How To Make Your Own Canna Caps

Many medical marijuana dispensaries sell Canna Caps, which has quickly become a generic name for any capsule filled with cannabis since its association with the groundbreaking work of Dr. Paul Hornby. Dr. Hornby’s original idea was for Canna Caps to have standardized doses of THC, and all ingredients tested for pesticides, heavy metals, and other contaminants.

Most of the “Canna Caps” made and sold at U.S. dispensaries vary a great deal in potency, although products from the same supplier are often consistent. I obtained and tested some a few months ago which seemed quite strong to me, but it turns out they were actually discontinued by the dispensary because most people complained they didn’t do anything!

So the ultimate answer is to make your own, to whatever dose helps you best. My philosophy on desired strength is that with ingredients (such as cannabutter or cannabis cooking oil), you want to make them very strong, because then you have the option to use just a little, or even dilute it for taste if you like. But with capsules, you can’t take any less than a single dose. So if it’s too strong, you’re kind of stuck (often to the couch 🙂

Whenever you ingest cannabis, it’s recommended to do two things to it, so that the body can process it most efficiently. The first is to decarboxylate the cannabis, which converts the THCA actually found in the plant to psychoactive (and pain relieving) THC. This is done automatically when you smoke or vaporize it, which is why many people have never heard of it. The other is to bind the cannabinoids to fat or oil so it will be absorbed efficiently and properly through the digestive system.

Math Management

I knew I wanted to extract to coconut oil: it works well for this purpose, being almost 100% fat (but the non-hydrogenated kind, so it’s actually good for you); it’s also very heat-stable and stays fresh for years even at room temperature. I actually subscribe to coconut oil on Amazon!

In the 21st Century, You Can Subscribe to Coconut Oil!

You can actually use almost any vegetable oil if you like; most popular ones like olive and canola oil have much less fat in them, so are less efficient at binding the cannabinoids, but still work well and have different tastes. Check out this magic live table from Wikipedia (click on the “saturated fat” column until it sorts descending). Remember, even if you’re on a low-fat diet…these capsules hold just a dozen drops of oil or so.

Now we’d like to figure out how much to use. After a lot of experimentation, I’ve found that most people do quite well with a very simple standard amount of 1/8 ounce (3.5 grams) of cannabis in 4 tablespoons (60 ml) of coconut oil. This will theoretically make 88 capsules of #0 size (6.8 mg THC/capsule for 20% strength cannabis) or 63 capsules of #00 size (9.5 mg THC/capsule for 20% strength cannabis). If you already know you have a low tolerance or you’re making these for a new, elderly, or frail patient, start with 2 grams per 4 tablespoons oil (or 3.5 grams per 6 to 8 tablespoons of oil) for weaker capsules).

Note: Steps 1 through 7 below are all the recipe you need for cannabis cooking oil!
Just use more weed…1/4 ounce (7 grams) per cup
(about 200 grams) of oil is a good place to start.

Making Canna Caps

Weigh the cannabis. If you don’t have access to an accurate scale, 1/3 cup of ground cannabis powder weighs about 7 grams. It’s actually easier to grind the cannabis later, though (see Step 4).

Make a little bowl or basket out of aluminum foil, and put the cannabis in it (or use a pie plate). This will help keep it from burning or sticking to the baking sheet. Put the foil basket on the baking sheet and put it in your oven.

Decarboxylate the cannabis by baking it in a preheated regular oven (NOT a toaster oven or convection oven or microwave). I now recommend 250°F for 30 minutes because it’s been proven to be efficient and works well with both regular and high CBD strains. This step will make your kitchen smell quite weedy, by the way.

Now is a good time to grind the cannabis; it’s more brittle after decarboxylation, and the more surface area exposed, the more efficiently it will bind to the fat in the coconut oil. I grind to “small particle” size; some people like to go to fine powder, but that makes it extremely difficult to filter later.

Measure out the oil. Coconut oil is solid at less than 76°F, but a tablespoon is still a tablespoon.

Now put the oil and ground cannabis directly into your Little Dipper or into an uncovered mason jar (which can withstand heat) in the top of a double boiler or in a water bath (in an inch or two of boiling water in a low pan) or in a pie plate in a 200°F oven or in a Crock-Pot set on warm (it’s lower than low) with at least 2 or 3 inches of water in it,. The idea is to safely heat the mixture to between 180°F and 220°F so that the cannabinoids will be dissolved in the oil. Anywhere from 1/2 to 6 hours is recommended by a variety of people; I happened to use 3 hours my first time, but I’ve regularly made many successful batches in only 90 minutes. If you’re using the water method, be sure to check the water regularly so that it doesn’t boil out, breaking your jar and ruining all your work and material. Stir every 20 minutes or so.

When you’re done, or just bored with this, you’ll have some lovely green fluid. Let it cool down to 100°F or so (the idea is not to burn yourself!) and then you can filter out the plant material (using a coffee filter and a garlic press or potato ricer to squeeze out every last drop).

Now you fill the “large end” of the capsules by using an oral syringe. I’ll assume you have access to something like a Cap-M-Quik filler to hold the capsule halves up (you won’t need the optional tamper unless you want to experiment with putting powder into capsules too). If you’re really on a low budget, a buddy suggested plastic ammo boxes will work. Don’t try to fill the capsules all the way or too fast; let the oil settle so any bubbles go out while you work on the next capsule, then when you’ve gotten them all, go back if necessary. Be sure to push hard enough to feel the “click” when putting the small end of the capsule on, so you know it’s sealed properly.

Dry your hands and gently wipe off the capsules as you take them out and put them away (ideally into a pill bottle in the refrigerator, where the capsules will solidify, helping prevent leaks). Oh, and rinse everything you used off with hot water now before the oil re-solidifies!

The last step is from Space Oddity by David Bowie: “Now it’s time to try the capsule if you dare…” 🙂 I found mine to be just right for me; a bit of a surprisingly sharp peak for about 15 minutes, but after that quite easy to handle.

Discreet and Repeat

And because they’re all the same dose, you can take two or more if you need them, secure in the knowledge that they’ll work pretty much the same every time. To get them to work faster/more efficiently, take them with a fatty meal.

When I filtered my oil, I put it into a calibrated shot glass to measure it, and it’s a good thing I did, because I found I had lost 15 ml of oil to the filter paper and absorption by the plant particles. I added another tablespoon of oil to get back to the proper dosage, otherwise I would have ended up with 20 very strong capsules! Next time I will start with three tablespoons of oil to compensate, which would allow more cannabis to be used if desired. Note: the crossed-out text is not the way to do things. If you use a permanent gold coffee filter, rather than a paper one, you will not lose much oil. In any case, adding the plain coconut oil is the only reason I didn’t get severely overdosed…I diluted all the capsules like crazy.

Tips and Tricks

So if you want to make your capsules much stronger than this, you’d have to use concentrated cannabis to begin with, i.e. hash (same idea: grind it up and heat it with the oil). Another trick for extra strength is to use less oil than would saturate the cannabis, add water to raise the liquid level to where it is all saturated, then boil until the water is gone (when it stops boiling on the same heat setting).

Lecithin Granules Make Edibles Work Better

Finally, the newest “hack” I’ve been using is to add lecithin granules to my oil mixes. Lecithin has a number of interesting properties, but in general it helps your body absorb and process fats more efficiently. I’ve generally seen an increased effect of 20% to 33% or so. I use a tablespoon of lecithin granules when making capsules, or up to four to six tablespoons for a full cup of cannabis cooking oil. It takes the granules awhile to melt, so I throw them in at the beginning while my crock-pot heats up, and when the granules disappear I know it’s up to working temperature. Then I add the cannabis and start the timer.

(Note: I no longer recommend adding lecithin due to studies that indicate it can cause heart damage — OH)

I actually used some AVB in my first mix, because I had some. Using all buds will make it stronger; grinding it to powder will let you get even more into a given amount of oil; and after that there’s kief, hash, and hash oil 🙂

There are a lot of variations on cannabis capsules; here’s a very detailed article with two other methods of making them. Both these methods involve leaving the original plant material in the mix. This may make it stronger, and will also increase the theoretical healing effect, since everything will be going into your body. However, it will also make it harder to fill the capsules, since particles don’t always go through a syringe easily, and there will be less room for the oil itself.

Also, even finely-ground plant matter is hard to digest for some people; it may cause stomach upset or nausea. One last point is that I don’t advise heating your cannabis in an ordinary oven much higher than 300°F at any time (as both those methods in the link do) if you don’t want to risk losing THC.

About Old Hippie

http://gplus.to/OldHippie
Old Hippie is a father of two boys and thankfully living in California where all this kind of thing is legal. He started smoking marijuana in 1967 in high school, experimented with mind-expanding drugs of all kinds, and then straightened out 15 or so years later to become an airplane pilot. After being diagnosed with depression in 2000, he lost his job and most of the following decade to prescription medications (such as antidepressants) which sapped his energy and will. Finally, a chance conversation with a friend led to a doctor’s recommendation for medical marijuana (MMJ). This changed his entire life, health, and outlook for the better.
BeyondChronic.com is his continuing story. It’s also his way to provide experienced advice on using medical marijuana effectively and responsibly, as well as advocacy, activism, and support for others. Old Hippie teaches about safe use of cannabis edibles, Canna Caps, vaporizers, dosing, and even microdosing.
View all posts by Old Hippie →

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284 comments

Very nice! Thanks for this tutorial. I have fibromyalgia, and have found that coconut oil with cannabis makes a GREAT rub for the various painful areas I have. I get about 3 days of complete relief from the continual stabbing pain with it. While I may not ever make my own, just knowing how makes me happy!

Jinx, thanks so much for the feedback! A young relative of mine has fibromyalgia too, and I’ve been hoping to find some actual experiences to tell her about. And duh…I never thought about using this as a rub, but it makes perfect sense. I’m so glad it helps you…and of course, without the putting-the-stuff-into-the-little-capsules step, it’s a lot easier! So nugs and hugs to you, and thanks again!

Followed your recipe to the “T” on making capsules. Fantastic results, use 23 drops of liquid per #0 capsules and two capsules (one an hr after breakfast and one 6 hrs later makes my day perfect every day…tnx a ton for the info…I’m over 65.

Thanks for sharing your wisdom here…
One of my good friends is looking for Canna Capsules (with Coconut oil) as a way to get rid of the nausea he gets from taking chemotherapy.
Can you please advice me to where I can buy these capsules?
I’m preferably looking for a pill with approx 2xCBD/1xTHC (or 2/3 CBD/1/3 THC), as it’s the medicinal effects we’re after and not the trippie effects I hear is more related to THC.
Any wisdom you can share with me on this will be blessed,
Thanks in advance,
Jørgen

Well, no, I can’t tell you where to buy these because I don’t know where you are. I really only teach people how to make them, and that’s the safest way because then you can put your own selected strains in your own capsules! Good luck!

I use my coconut oil as salve for fibromyalgia, and bursitis of hip.. I apply to painful areas and it’s anywhere from 1-3 days before the burning stabbing pains begin again. I have found through my patients and self medicating that if used 1-2 times a day it reduces painful inflammation of arthritic & or injured joints. I also eat a teaspoon most mornings which helps to relieve muscle spasms due to MS. I love coconut oil. Thanks for sharing your vast experience.

I have Fibro too, 30 yrs now :(. I suggest high CBD capsules as well…..helps with all sorts of symptoms! The THC’s not the important part, go high CBD with capsules ,and the lotion/oil works wonders topically for muscle spasms 🙂

This is by far the best tutorial I have seen on making cannabis oil. I have never used marijuana in my life. Nor have I used any other drug (though I consider MMJ a medicine, not a “drug”). Many people are now discovering the health benefits of medical marijuana, and it is great that they are able to make their oil themselves.

So, do I understand correctly that I would need 4 grams of cannabis and 2 tablespoons of oil to make 40 capsules? Please pardon me if I am asking a question that is just too obvious, but I am really “brand new” to cannabis oil. I assume that my level of sensitivity would, therefore, be VERY high: I never even smoked cigarettes, and I use natural remedies to treat myself, instead of medicine, so…..

Tanit, thanks for those kind words. Yes, 4 grams and 2 tablespoons are what I started with, but if you re-read the fourth paragraph from the end, you’ll see that there’s an unavoidable loss of oil in the filtering and squeezing process. So you’ll end up having to add more oil to keep the same dilution and dosage that you calculated.

As far as sensitivity, even my tolerance is pretty low because I tend to take very light doses, which doesn’t create a tolerance effect. If you’re concerned about taking too much, there’s a simple remedy for that: get yourself a brown glass dropper bottle and store the oil in it.

Now you can titrate your doses just as you like until you get the hang of it. I recommend starting with 5 drops and going up 5 drops at a time. Remember that oral ingestion will take from 45 minutes to 2 hours to work, so don’t take any more during that period. Once you find your correct dose, you can make up capsules with that exact dose in them.

Oh, one more thing. I’ve found that you definitely absorb THC through the skin, so I recommend wearing medical-style gloves during the whole filtering and capsule-making process. The last few times I made capsules I got pretty loopy until I finally figured this out!

Good question! I keep mine in a small wide-mouth bottle on top of my computer tower, over the power supply. This keeps it liquid except in the winter. Then, I take off the top and microwave it for 22 seconds, which just liquifies it. I stir it with the oral syringe I use to measure doses to make sure it’s properly mixed.

I have been making my own caps for some time now, and my recipe is similar to yours [OldHippie], but I have an important tweak… I only fill my caps up halfway. If you are sensitive to getting too high and then feeling paranoid or uncomfortable (like me), it’s better to take a lower dose until you know how they’re going to make you feel. Also, on days when you are in extreme pain you can just take more capsules. Just my 2-cents… 🙂

After all the evaporation, I don’t think they’re getting any alcohol to speak of, certainly not enough for a hangover. I’m almost positive it’s chlorophyll and terpenes from the low-temp extraction they did. Experience helps here, because I also remember getting headaches and such after a bad alcohol extraction, and that’s what the cause turned out to be.

I found this link on the cannabis forum. I’m the one who wrote that long thread above that is linked re: Simpson’s Oil. That’s what I call it. It’s a method I’ve come up with to make Rick Simpson’s “hemp oil.” If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a VERY concentrated, tar-like oil that is used for cancer and a host of other ailments.

There are a lot of methods to make it and many disagreements as to what solvents to use. Without going into massive detail, I use Everclear instead of either Isopropyl Alcohol or Naphtha (!!) which is how Rick makes it in his video: “Run FROM the Cure.”

I am planning on making the oil the next time using the freezing method which I’m sure you’re familiar with. I think this way I’ll avoid the excessive chlorophyll I extracted from the heating method described in that link.

I would love to know why you think that the terpenes and chlorophyll caused the hangover feeling. Please elaborate as I’d love to avoid this side effect in the future.

By the way, I’ve made topical applications of this “Simpson oil” blended in coconut oil and 1 teaspoon of DMSO (70/30 blend) in a 2 oz. jar and applied this in PEA SIZED doses to the sole of one foot at night and have had the SAME hangover effect the next morning. The headache is always in the right, upper part of my forehead for some reason. I learned from studying reflexology that anything you put on your feet will absorb into the body. By adding a small amount of DMSO in the salve, it acts as a carrier of the cannabis, thereby allowing those to use it who do not want to ingest it for whatever reason. The topical application works great for any pain, although I would use it directly on whatever is hurting and not rely only on the bottom of the foot method.

BTW, “Old Hippie,” I’d love to get your take on Rick Simpson’s “Hemp Oil” if you know anything about it. I really love your blog and appreciate your easy-to-read style.

I read your stuff on GP (I’m a member there after Granny Storm Crow invited me, but pretty quiet). I can say that you and I also have a lot in common, especially the “subconscious working on healing” stuff.

As I mentioned briefly to Tanit, one of my early attempts at tincture ended up yielding some crummy-tasting green stuff that didn’t work well and gave me headaches. Later I found the excess green was probably chlorophyll.

I am a big optimist and love the idea of super-concentrated cannabis oil healing stuff like cancer. I have my own theories of what cannabis can do and how essential it is for humans, and I hope to testify against the DEA one day in World Court when they are prosecuted for crimes against humanity. I do not doubt Rick Simpson for a minute and I think these effects should be thoroughly investigated, and yet like you I can’t help thinking there has to be a better solvent than naptha for healing medicine.

Another question for you. If I started the processing of making Rick Simpson’s oil in the freezer, pouring the frozen Everclear over the frozen buds and THEN extracted it down through a heating method, wouldn’t that eliminate the excess turpenes and chlorophyll issues?

Also, wanted you to know that we tried your intriguing method for vaporizing only the CBDs in a high CBD strain we grow called Kushberry (OGKush x Oregon Blueberry.) I followed your directions to the letter but I think I must have overdone it because I did four good hits (and I’m a lightweight, BTW) and I felt such a serious body stone that it almost scared the hell out of me. I slept for two hours and then awoke, completely restless and agitated for four agonizing hours….ugh. Hungover all day today until about 6pm. Any ideas what I did wrong….besides perhaps four good hits? The only other thing I can come up with is that I didn’t allow the cannabis to brown enough when we set the vape on the higher setting. This whole vaping is so new to us that we’re just learning and making mistakes probably.

Have your Canna Caps simmering as we speak. Look forward to seeing how that pans out. All I’m looking for personally is to get a good night’s sleep and reduce my joint pain.

Hmm, so basically you’re talking about doing something like a QWISO extraction using Everclear to get at all the trichomes directly? Sounds pretty interesting, although my concern is that this approach may address only the THC and not the other cannabinoids.

As for your CBD question…what makes you think you did it wrong? If you felt all body effects, I’d say you did it right! But as with Marinol (which, as you may know, is a prescription medicine that’s pure THC), it’s likely that using either all CBD or all THC will cause unbalanced effects; they work off each other and you need some of each. So maybe you did too good a job of removing the THC! In any case, I keep hearing tales of people getting strange effects from doing too much of almost anything, so my advice is to dose slowly and keep notes and work your way up with new concoctions from any source. BTW, how does what you reported contrast with the normal effect of Kushberry?

First off, I want you to know that you’ve inspired me to really re-think this whole CBD issue. Since I’m only one year into using cannabis (and I’m over 50), I’m learning which methods work the best for my sensitive system. As a clinical herbalist, I’ve spent decades making potions and salves and tinctures from tons of plants but, next to the nettle plant, I think cannabis has the most incredible multi-level use platform (wow, that sounded elitist….but you get my drift.)

The fact that you take an Indica that you’ve let show more amber than milky trichomes when you harvest it and THEN either choose to decarb or not decarb and THEN cook it at a certain temp to release or not release the CBDs…..well, it’s like the most flexible plant to play with. I find that inspiring and helps me have even more respect for it.

I read and re-read and re-re-read your link on your guide to CBD. I’m still trying to figure out how to release as much of CBD as possible. BUT I agree with you that any element pushed to excess in a plant (or manipulated through standardization) can and does omit the other harmonizing elements that are there for a PURPOSE. I’ve had verbal arguments with some of the the so-called “top experts” in the herbal world on this exact subject. Thus, pushing too much THC in a plant (even breeding it for that express purpose) doesn’t make sense to me.

When I started our grow, I hand picked VERY specific plants for specific purposes. For example, I chose White Russian because I’d made a base salve out of it and before I even added Simpson’s Oil, the DMSO and specific essential oils that are known to fight inflammation, etc., I had a decent salve. Just the sheer amount of “sugar” on the colas and the stickiness of it when you trim told me that it was a great topical agent. However, it’s prone to PM and that is a massive drawback when growing indoors. I’m growing it outside now with my own blend of organics and such, and I’ve got one White Russian that’s pushing 8 feet.

I also chose Kushberry JUST for its CBD profile. I also chose Afghan Kush but soon learned that it could not grow in our high altitude environment. There is another called Snow Fruit which is supposedly 90/10 Indica dominant. I have not been able to find ANY breeding info on it but chose it because it’s supposedly highly resinous and I need that when making Simpson’s oil.

You asked about my other experience with Kushberry. My only other experience was using it in the vaporizer at 180 C. and taking two quick hits. That was a great experience. Very light and happy and my head felt like little pinpoints of electricity were igniting. After about 20 minutes, it was mellow and I slept great. So, I think this last time I just overdid it on the intakes and burned off too much THC.

Right now, I decided to try my Snow Fruit instead of the Kushberry for the Canna Caps. I’m going to process it today. I weighed out 7 grams of Snow Fruit popcorn buds that were HIGHLY resinous and, after decarbing it, I ground it up but it was nowhere near 1/3 cup. When I added the two TBS. of coconut oil to the top of the stove mason jar in water method, it wasn’t even covering the plant material. So, I added more to cover and that was like 4 1/2 TBS total. I let it do its thing, never getting over 200 F. for six hours. But then it was midnight and didn’t want to deal with the straining, etc. So, I left it in the jar with NO heat overnight. It’s now melting again so I can strain it. But it looks like the 6 hours of heating yesterday whittled it down to about 2 1/2 TBS now.

I also have Kushberry and organic vodka sitting in the freezer ready for me to process using that method I mentioned above (with YouTube video attached.) I’ll do this process MINUS the distilled part, keep it in the freezer for three days, shaking it every few hours and then strain it. I’ve heard from other “old hippies” that the frozen method for tincture making literally breaks off the trichomes as solids into the alcohol and allows for no chlorophyll and a “cleaner” experience when you take it.

The next step will be to make a tincture via the “Master Wu” method of top of the stove boiling method, after decarb. Planning on using Blueberry for that as it’s a reliable strain that I have used before and know what to expect.

I also do a method where I cook the ground bud and/or shake material at 200 F. (or a combo of both) in cocoa butter (I buy the rawest form I can find from Bali). It’s quite a process I’ve come up with to do this (due to the high fat content of the cocoa butter) but if you make a large enough batch, the five day process is worth it. What you end up with is the SMOOTHEST body high around IF you don’t overdo it. It literally takes an 1/8 tsp of this finished cocoa butter process to help me sleep and relieve the mental chatter in my head.

I’m all for taking SMALL doses over a long period of time to create a TONIC effect on the body. I think that CBD is best used in small amounts, allowing it to build up in the body and brain. I’m too old to enjoy the dual realities, trippy crap. I’ve always been open to what’s on the “other side of the veil” and understand the esoteric science behind the soul and death, etc. And I’ve “seen the dead” (when I’ve been totally straight) and I’m cool with it. But when I was trippin’ on Kushberry two nights ago, well….let’s just say that my mom and I had a lot of catching up to do.

Secondly, I’m also only about one year into using cannabis medically (and I’m obviously over 50 too). You have a perfect background coming from herbal medicine, and you clearly also have the work ethic to do things carefully and document them. That reminds me, thanks for coming up with those user experiences for me. I put them all in my mental hopper and let them roll around for awhile and eventually I see patterns. I’m a voracious, data-inhaling polymath with a lot of diverse interests and I love to put the puzzles together!

I must apologize for getting behind on answering some of these. We’ve been having some severe logistical problems around here, and today’s power failure was just the icing on the cake. And thanks for defending me on that other thread, before I could even dig up a source or two 🙂

I also do a method where I cook the ground bud and/or shake material at 200 F. (or a combo of both) in cocoa butter (I buy the rawest form I can find from Bali).

Oh, you absolutely must call the result Bali High! 🙂

I’m all for taking SMALL doses over a long period of time to create a TONIC effect on the body.

This fits in with my theory (well, not just mine…my part is more intuitive, while I’ll leave it to biology experts to study the cannabinoid system) about cannabis restoring natural balance to the body. If you haven’t already, please read this post to see what happened after my body went through a complete reset (well, the power went off there too :-).

But when I was trippin’ on Kushberry two nights ago, well….let’s just say that my mom and I had a lot of catching up to do.

YES! I already have found myself humming “Bali High!” when I’m processing the cannabis in the cocoa butter from Bali. You and I seem to be on the same page.

We’re also on the same page about using intuition instead of JUST science. Science is needed to validate but when you’re dealing with a living thing like a plant, you MUST use intuition to guide you. Every incredible herbalist I ever worked with (some of whom were well into their 90’s) used intuition as their guide. Watching them in their gardens and in the forests, you might even say they were “high” but they were completely straight and sober. However, their ability to meld with nature, communicate with plants, trees, etc. is reminiscent of a cannabis “high.”

Addressing your re-set idea, I’m totally in agreement. The first NIGHT I used my Everclear version of Rick Simpson’s oil, I ingested about two rice grains and rubbed another drop or two on my leg where I had a minor cut (I wanted to see if the oil could heal the cut, since it’s antibiotic and heals wounds like crazy.) Well, that night I had a HUGE re-set. I even WOKE UP STONED out of my mind, 12 hours after I ingested the oil. (I’m a huge lightweight.) That was my first encounter with my late mom. But that time, I only saw her as an energy glob, outlined in green with traces of deep purple and within the glob, thousands of doves flew in the same direction. Within that vision, I saw her smile (not her physical smile but the energy from that smile) and that’s how I knew it was her. Here’s the odd part. I only told this story to two other people who knew her. One of them said, “Well, you’re mother always told me she liked any colors as long as they were green and purple.” I did not know this. Seriously, I didn’t. And she used to have a “dove of piece” sculpture on her bedside table.

I read your account of your edibles tripping. Let me tell you, it all RINGS TRUE to me. If I’d read that a year ago before I started my journey with cannabis, I would have thought you were one taco short of a combination plate. Not anymore. First off, much of what you experienced, I did too.

1. Pressure around the head and muffled ringing in the ears.

This always happens when I take too much, whether through oils, edibles or vaporizing. Once I got over the fear factor, I decided to go with it and see what I learned. Here’s what I was told while this was happening, in my more sober words:

This is similar to a DMT experience, which is what is believed to occur when you die. While DMT can create lights and sightings of Jesus (or whatever spiritual leader you follow), the feeling of pressure and ringing is the etheric body loosening just enough so the VIBRATION can uncover the veils or seams in our “reality” and allow us to look into the other worlds. There are many worlds. There is a world “just over there” about a few feet from where you are. I’m not sure if it’s a parallel universe to ours where doubles of us reside (this has been theorized in esoteric science) or whether it’s the first level of ascension for the “dead.” I’ve not been able to cross the threshold to this place while on cannabis but I HAVE done it successfully while meditating. I don’t see any unhappiness in this place so I’m grateful I didn’t find the darker portals which also do exist within our reality. One of the reasons it took me so long to really get into cannabis was that I was told repeatedly by my mother that it was easy to delve into the dark recesses when “high” and that you could bring back with you entities and energy that would hurt you. I actually don’t doubt this as I’m sensitive to energies and I’ve met a WHOLE LOT of people who are possessed. (I’m not Catholic either, so this is not a religious judgment….this is a “I’ve seen it and I believe it” statement.) But the irony here is that my mom who was so adamant back in the 1960’s that I “stay away from pot” is the only deceased being I’ve been able to contact WHILE ON CANNABIS. I think I just heard the irony bell go off again. And since I came from a family that could best be described as religiously progressive and socially conservative, my mom always talked about “visiting me” after she died and having continual contact through “the veil.” Well, I tried to contact her sober and weird things did happen (lights flickered, cell phones turned off, etc….all common to Spirit in the room) but I never made that momentous leap to see her and hear her voice until I was riding that cannabis wave.

Other things I found out were that the huge distortion you hear is necessary because of our denseness in our bodies and we need to be almost shaken to allow the other realities to come into view. I always do say a prayer when this happens, just as a protection and to make sure I don’t travel to other, darker places. I saw spirits on the other side of the veil who were brushing at the canvas wall that separated us and making a thready opening so that I could both look into that world and talk with the others. Again, it wasn’t scary at all. And once it was explained to me, I released fear. I then realized that so much of classic literature and modern films are obviously influenced by cannabis and other drugs because the experience I had could have been replicated in “Alice in Wonderland” or that movie with Robin Williams where he or his wife dies (can’t remember the name of it) and he travels to find her.

As the veil closes (i.e., as the cannabis “high” moves out of your body), the ringing in the head becomes less. When the pressure is completely gone, the veil is zipped up again and the cord that holds you to this world via your naval is firmly intact again.

Since I’ve also had the strange privilege to know some of the most famous clairvoyants in this world (I’m not talking about the TV ones….I’m talking about the REAL ones who no one knows about but are sought out by many), I can tell you that they all hear the same ringing in their ears and pressure in their head before they go into a self-induced shift and are able to speak to the dead and retain messages from spirit guides to help their clients. HOWEVER, knowing these people as I did for decades, I can tell you with absolute certainty that all of them became weaker from their experience over time and needed to retreat away from lots of people as the years progressed. Most became hermits. Only one that I knew was a social butterfly and she ended dying of cancer. It’s just an observation but I think it speaks volumes. A lot of these clairvoyants could not stop their “gift” and would easily go into “trance” whenever a spirit needed to speak to her. One might assume that the cannabanoid system of these people’s brains were more active and igniting without the use of cannabis to trip the trigger.

2. Cats talking to you.

OK. I haven’t had my cats talk to me yet, BUT you do get messages and insight from strange places. For example, I tried to read a book while on this massive trip. That was impossible to do. BUT I started to read “between the lines” of the book and was able to perceive what the author was thinking when he/she wrote the words. Another example is that when I was really out there, I turned on that singing competition called “The Voice.” I couldn’t follow it at all BUT I was absolutely able to “read the minds” of the contestants as they were being judged. I would say out loud to my husband, “Oh, she’s totally going to start crying any second,” even though the girl in question was smiling and laughing at the time. Or, “that guy hates that judge and wants to beat him up,” while the guy was also smiling and looking like he was having a grand ol’ time. Was I right? Hell, if I know. But at that moment, I would have sat there and told you with utmost certainty that everything I was FEELING was accurate and going to happen. So, cats talking to you is totally believable.

And that curious date alignment with Uncle Buck’s class is just another example of why I’m beginning to believe that we live in a holographic universe and that we are all connected by silver cords of light and frequency that continue through our various incarnations on this planet. The wheel keeps turning and the world folds onto itself (I saw the folding action again when I was really out there.) As it folds, everything is in perfection and there is a Universal hand that allows this to happen IN CONCERT with our minds and evolution as a soul.

I didn’t know that about clairvoyants, but one thing has been happening to me for years, and now that I’ve read your comment, it all makes sense.

Sometimes, when I’m talking to someone quite earnestly about a topic — usually one I’ve been thinking about “in background” for a long time — I’ll get a peculiar sensation and feel slightly detached mentally. I keep talking, but I don’t feel that it’s completely “me” talking…almost like I’ve been partially “taken over” by what feels like a higher consciousness. I always get the very strong feeling that what I’m saying is completely True, even though I’ve never said those words before or even thought them.

And now I realize that “pressure in the head and muffled ringing in the ears” is a pretty good description of what I just called “a peculiar sensation and feel[ing] slightly detached mentally”.

Made the oil using 7 grams (by weight) of Snow Fruit (nearly 100% Indica) and 4 1/2 TBS of coconut oil. Simmered it in a water bath on top of the stove for 6 hours. It reduced to exactly 2 TBS. Let it sit overnight. In the morning it was solid and I warmed it up for 30 minutes to strain it. Ended up with just under 2 TBS after straining.

Figured that my usual comfortable dose is 1/4 to an 1/8 tsp. of other oils. Measuring 1/4 tsp., it comes out to 18 drops from one of those glass droppers you find in tincture bottles. I then found out that 18 drops is EXACTLY what fits into the longer end of a “00” capsule. I filled some with 18 drops and some with 9 drops (figuring that the 9 drops would be 1/8 tsp. dose.) I got a total of 26 capsules with 18 drops in them and 6 capsules with 9 drops in them. Some plant matter (very fine powder) ended up in some of the capsules I filled toward the end due to settling.

First night: We took one of the capsules with 18 drops (1/4 tsp.) approximately 90 minutes after a full meal. It took exactly 3 hours for both of us to feel anything. Very Indica (body stone, could not read a thing, couldn’t focus on TV, needed to sleep.) Woke up hungover and really tired.

Second night: We took one of the capsules with 18 drops (1/4 tsp.) five minutes BEFORE eating our dinner. EXACTLY ONE HOUR LATER, we BOTH felt it. Wham! Serious body stone but I could still function to a point. I would not have driven anywhere or attempted to make sense of anything much. BUT I was able to apparently rattle off cohesive discourse on subjects I can’t recall right now. Went to bed three hours later and slept very well and DID NOT wake up with a headache.

Tonight, I’ll take the capsule with 9 drops in it just prior to dinner to see what effect this smaller dose has.

And I’m still trying to track down that Harlequin strain. Sounds fabulous for one of our chronic pain patients.

I’ve been trying to find either clones or seeds of HARLEQUIN and getting nowhere. Any ideas?

In my search, I found a strain called UNICORN that has similar CBD/THC numbers to HARLEQUIN. When I called the only dispensary in Colorado that had it, they told me that city regulation prohibited them from selling clones of it and they were sold out of the bud for at least two weeks.

I’m now actively searching out these high CBD strains as I think this is something that could make a huge difference in how I feel and my patients feel. Many thanks again to you for all your hard work and research.

Wow, that’s an amazing lab report. I’ve never seen one with the active/inactive like that, but it implies that you have to decarboxylate cannabis to activate even the CBD, which I suspected but wasn’t quite sure about.

I’ve never heard of Unicorn but it could very well be a rebranded Harlequin with those numbers. City regulations, fooey! What happened to the right to medicine in the Colorado constitution?!?!

Anyway, I’m pretty bummed about this myself because my growing buddy took some Harlequin clones but they all died…some mold attacked the entire batch. I may have to take a trip back down to San Francisco just to get more…and then I’d have to find a male plant to get them to seed…and then worry about what Frankenstein I’ve created!

Unfortunately seeds are the only way to get these plants across long distances…sigh.

Here’s Canna Report #3, using one capsule that had 9 drops (1/8 tsp) in the cap.

Took it after my first bite of food last night. (7:15pm) Three hours later, did not feel anything like the same body stone. But was semi-relaxed but still highly functional. Yes, I could have driven if I needed to.

I went to bed and then awoke at 1am to use the bathroom. Walking to the bathroom, it was clear that I had a moderate to major body stone in my legs. Very introspective as well (well, as introspective as you be sitting on a toilet and staring into the darkness.) Got back to sleep easily (which is a major accomplishment for me these days) and slept like a log until 7:15am when my husband stirred. Not so hungover today but still not as sharp as I was yesterday morning.

I was really hoping that this dose would be minor and easy to handle but even at 9 drops of the oil, it’s profound. I’m thinking it might be an idea to keep the oil in a dropper bottle and administer it via drops rather than the capsule. I know of the melting rate of coconut oil but I can keep it by the woodstove in the winter time and the top layer will remain melted for sure.

Sounds like you’re making some serious oil there! I’m really glad to have heard about all your tech recipes, because I love the idea of Simpson healing oil but despaired after reading about naptha, pounds of weed, etc. Now I know it can be done in smaller quantities, and safer, for testing! Thank you again. And yes, a dropper bottle would seem to be prudent 🙂

I guess I’m a little foggy here on the whole CBD issue when it comes to decarbing or not decarbing. I was under the impression that if you were working with a 100% Indica or 90/10 Indica dominant strain, if you did NOT decarb, you would actually have more CBD present than THC since you weren’t activating the THC via the decarb process. Am I wrong on this?

When I’ve made my tinctures in the past, I never decarbed. I got a nice mellow sleepy high but no body stone or uncomfortable issues, even at one tsp. doses.

I have not processed by freezer tincture yet with the Kushberry but it’s ready tomorrow so I’ll let you know. No decarb on that one.

However, I can attest to the fact that I have never decarbed my edibles where I soak the cocoa butter (Bali High….) in cannabis and let it cook in a crock pot at no higher than 200 F. for four to five days in a row, cooling it at night only. And one tsp. of the cocoa butter added to a chocolate will put you over the edge (OH rank of probably a 9). Serious tripping and no decarbing. Any idea what I did or didn’t do to make that happen? One other Old Hippie I’ve talked to told me that if you use a crock pot, it’s a good idea to bring it to peak temp (no higher than 200) and then let it cool at night and then bring it back up to 200 in the morning. He told me that it kind of “pumps” the THC (or trichomes….I can’t recall specifically) and releases more THC and CBDs from this method. Oh, and on the last day of this crock pot cookout, he told me to add one ounce of Everclear to the brew and let it cook out for another 24 hours. I can’t remember why but I do that now all the time now and my cocoa butter edibles are even more intense. Literally, newbies just need an 1/8 tsp. of the cocoa butter plain in order to sleep or relieve their pain.

All the best,

LAD

P.S. Have you seen the DVD, “Limitless?” If not, check it out. I think the whole brain synapse theme would trip your trigger.

I guess I’m a little foggy here on the whole CBD issue when it comes to decarbing or not decarbing. I was under the impression that if you were working with a 100% Indica or 90/10 Indica dominant strain, if you did NOT decarb, you would actually have more CBD present than THC since you weren’t activating the THC via the decarb process. Am I wrong on this?

To tell you the truth, I no longer know. I was sure that decarbing activated the THC and I still am, but that lab report you sent me implied that CBD has to be activated the same way. Must do research! But if CBD does not have to be activated, then yes, this technique would raise the CBD level relative to THC (but wouldn’t actually raise the amount of CBD present). I implied this in my Pot Painkiller Pills article.

Your story about not decarbing the edibles but still getting lots of THC makes sense. It’s true that you have to heat to a certain temperature before normal cooking to decarb, but curing weed is also a form of decarbing, and all that takes is time. Time will convert THCA to THC, but heat will do it lots faster and more efficiently! So when I decarb the fan leaves that have sat around drying in the open air, I’m probably wasting my time and energy. But if you take leaves off the plant, you can eat lots of them raw and not get the least bit high. All this to say that 4 or 5 days in a crockpot at “almost” decarb temperature is plenty of decarbing!

I’m not one to argue third-hand with another old hippie, but that “pumping” technique sounds like wishful thinking or something he figured out from blipping motorcycle throttles 🙂 The Everclear trick, OTOH, sounds legit…the alcohol will dissolve out any cannabinoids still in the solids and mix nicely with the oil, then evaporate.

Nugs and hugs,
Old Hippie

P.S. Last night I took your advice and watched Limitless at a [6]. Wow, I had some great conversations with My-Son-the-aspiring-brain-doctor after that one…thank you!!!

I originally found your canna capsule recipe in a magazine, and then found you online. I used your recipe exactly, but I had the smaller capsules, so I figured I had to use twice as many capsules – wrong! When I was done, it made only 30 capsules. Don’t know where I went wrong, but for me, they are VERY strong. It takes about 2 hrs for the initial effects, and then WHAM! lol It does give me a good nights sleep!

BTW: I am a newbie to the Cannabis world. I started researching it after it became legal in my state, and had grown tired of all the pain meds and injections my doctor was giving me. I am growing my own medicine, and I really appreciate your articles and insights.

Well, you got a good start. Everyone has different tolerance and weed and methodology, so every recipe is just a starting point. Remember the color of the liquid and next time go for lighter green; dilute if necessary. Eventually you’ll figure out exactly what works best for you. Nugs and hugs!

Hmm, not sure what “THC oil” you’re referring to. Mostly, the term “cannaoil” is used for cooking or capsules, and “Simpson Oil” is used for a very strong oil intended for serious medical purposes (this is sometimes inaccurately referred to as “hemp oil”, unfortunately even by Rick Simpson himself). I’ve actually never heard of simply “mixing” any kind of oil with hash; all oil has to be heated to work properly with THC of any kind. But the main reasons not to use hempseed oil specifically is that it tastes very strongly and goes bad fairly quickly and breaks down quickly when heated.

sorry i guess i’m talking about canna oil
yes you have to heat it and was told to add the water hash i make to hempseed oil ? i have not done this yet just getting info
i am going to get some coconut oil
thanks

hi OldHippie
i am new to this so sorry if stupid question
if i’m using hash do i still need to decarboxylate it first ?
if so do i just put in oven at 250 F
i tried to make with 1g hash & 3 Tbls hemp oil, i had the oil @ 200 F as i put the hash in it fizzled and dissolved let it simmer for 4 hours . i took about 1/3 of a drooper right before bed and had a great nights sleep & woke up fresh 🙂 last night i took about 3 hours before bed but didn’t fell a high but still had a great sleep, but i do have a high tolerance. just want to make sure i’m doing it right before i start making caps
i have the Cap-M-Quik kit ordered and getting some coconut oil not that easy to find in the UK
thanks again for all your help

Not stupid at all! I have never cooked with hash myself, but since it is essentially made of all trichomes, which have THC-A and CBD-A in the plant form, it would have to be decarboxylated as well if you’re making edibles. While doing some research for you I found this interesting post which claims the best method is 220F for a solid two hours. It sounds legit but haven’t tried it myself yet.

Since hash usually comes in a somewhat solid block, you should cut it into smaller pieces so more bits are exposed for the most surface area (you don’t have to go crazy, just little pieces is fine). This will help in the decarb process as well as cooking. Then it’s easy to throw into some oil for an hour or two. Be careful though…hash is obviously much stronger than buds! Aim for a medium color of the finished oil. If you really get into this, you can add a tablespoon of lecithin granules (they dissolve) to the warm oil and it will be stronger still. You can buy both lecithin and coconut oil at health food stores or on Amazon.

well i finally got to make some caps the other day
1 Tbs Coconut Oil
1/2 Tbs Lecithin
1 Gram water hash ( i made my own )
i decarboxlate the hash at 220f for 1 hour i expected it to melt but it only changed colour to a dark brown almost black
i added all together then heated between 180-220f for 3 hours most of the hash dissolved but some did not
i got 27 caps 🙂
i took 1 yesterday on a empty stomach ( and i’m a heavy smoker ) i didn’t notice a high or stoned effect but after about 4 hours i had the munchies and didn’t even think about a smoke till 7 hours after i took cap and i normally smoke 1-2 joints in a hour
so i think this is exactly what i was looking for
thanks again 🙂

This might sound dumb but why decarboxlate if you have to heat the hash and coconut oil anyway? I used 2 grams of shatter in 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. I put it in a pyrex measuring cup and then into a croc pot water bath. I left it on warm for 3 hours and high for 4 with the lid off. I have yet to cap them but 4 or 5 drops and I’m good for 3 hours. I did not add lecithin, I was thinking about adding it when reheating the oil to fill the caps. I’m not sure if it will dissolve so I think I’ll wait until next time around and add it all at once. I did this with CO2 and added the oil to melted chocolate but the ratio was off. It tasted good but it wasn’t manageable. I’m not sure how Bhang does it. I will say if you can get you hands on concentrates go that route they dissolve for the most part. I think I am going to decarboxlate next time and add a 1 teaspoon of lecithin using the same ratio and strain if possible to compare.

Most people do not heat their oil infusions for that long, and if they did they probably wouldn’t have to decarboxylate anyway. I doubt that extracts like hash oil have to be decarboxylated (although I don’t know for sure), but it’s a good idea to do with cannabis flowers or leaves as a separate step because you can tell when it’s properly done as it will turn brittle.

But thanks for reminding me. I no longer recommend lecithin, due to a study that found it could cause cardiac damage when used as a supplement. I have enough problems in that area, so I’ve stopped adding it to my oil. It also makes it hard to judge the oil by color!

Good to know about the lecithin, thanks. I’ve read that some concentrate producers decarb before extract but that doesn’t make sense to me. I’m going to run some flower with some outdoor after harvest. On the East Coast we had a lot of cold nights this summer but we had a good berry season. I’ve found that when the berry’s are good the outdoor is usually pretty nice.

Any idea how Bhang makes their chocolate? I’ve searched for a recipe but haven’t had too much luck. I’m assuming they add the extract to the cocoa butter but I’m not sure what the ratios would be.

Hey Old Hippie, thanks for the recipe and all the tips. Same topic I usually never decarboxylate my weed when I make cannabutter (never tried canna caps). So the question is can i get stronger butter if i decarb it first? or will be the same if I do it in the normal process for longer time?

I tried making canna caps yesterday. Not sure what went wrong. Maybe I didn’t cook long enough. But after 5 capsules, one at a time, nothing but a slight reduction in pain. Sigh…I cooked for 2 hours, but will try longer. Also used extra virgin olive oil. Perhaps the coconut makes a difference.

I did some quick research on Wikipedia and found that the saturated fat level of coconut oil (and butter…which is why cannabutter is so popular!) is far higher than olive oil, and I suspect that’s part of what’s giving you problems. Two hours is plenty long enough, so I suggest you look into the other aspects of your procedure. Are you decarbing the weed first? How are you heating the oil, and what temperature are you using?

hi all! making simpsom’s oil for the first time and wondering if it’s possible to put into capsules too or will they disintegrate? it’s for cancer that we are fighting so all experience or advice is greatly appreciated! planning on using either ak48 or northern lights as 2 proposed strains with high cbd content.
thanks in advance for your reply!
maya

I am concerned over your idea. Simpson Oil, being basically pure concentrated cannabinoids, should not eat through capsules. To be honest I’ve never actually tried that, but that’s because Simpson Oil is so strong that a typical dose is way smaller than a capsule. I just want to make sure you understand that, because if you were planning to fill an entire capsule with Simpson Oil and hand it to someone who’s never taken it before, that would pretty much be a guaranteed trip to the emergency room! A typical first dose is more like 1/3 of a grain of rice.

On the other hand, if your intent is to carefully measure out the doses and simply put them into capsules for easier handling and administration of doses, carry on. I’m just trying to be cautious here.

I’ve also just found some important information — that I am still doing some research on — that indicates the best time to take Simpson Oil would be an hour after eating. According to Granny Storm Crow (see the comments on this article), this will bypass the liver almost entirely, sending the cannabinoids directly into the bloodstream!

Good luck and write back if you think I can help. Cancer sucks. Hugs and nugs!

From reading some other articles and books over the years, I did not think you would have to de-carb in the oven, If you do it slow and low in the crock pot for several hours. I was under the impression that it would de-carb also. Did I misunderstand?

I agree, weed run for several hours at 200F or more should be decarbed during that process. Doing it in two stages lets you verify that it’s been done thoroughly, I guess. Besides, as I said I no longer run it that long in the oil myself.

Maybe you missed the last two paragraphs of the article where I explained why. Of course it will get you high, but apart from my other points, leaving it in makes the capsules randomly strong, which means the effects would be unpredictable.

Thank you. Sorry for not reading the article thoroughly. I have another question.I realize you are using this for medication, but in terms of recreational use, I had the idea of mixing caffeine powder to the oil before putting them in the capsules. This would not only negate some of the tiring effects of the pills, but increase your metabolism which would help you digest the oil more effectively. Also, for some reason I think the caffeine would hit you before the cannoboids so it would make the trip much different. Just want to know your thoughts! Thanks again 🙂 I’m honestly impressed you take the time to answer every question individually.

Hey, no problem…I pack a lot of info in there and by the end your eyes can get a little glazed over…you know, like a dank bowl 🙂

Anyway, I would like to strongly caution you against messing with caffeine powder. It’s similar to the thing with coca leaves vs. cocaine, or even marijuana vs. Marinol…the plant itself is pretty safe, but when you start isolating and concentrating the active ingredient, you can expect some collateral damage. We all know about people dying from cocaine, but not everyone realizes people have died from Marinol pills and quite a few more from caffeine. It’s possible to die from coffee (generally from drinking double-digit quantities of mugs of the stuff), but most of these sad occurrences have to do with energy drinks, caffeine pills, or the caffeine powder that you can buy online.

The point is…caffeine powder does have a lethal dose and it is far less than you probably think. I don’t think caffeine increases your metabolism enough that it would cause the oil to be digested more efficiently (although I appreciate that you’re thinking of this with an engineering mindset), and the danger involved makes it a bad idea in my view. Besides, we already have an ingredient that’s proven to increase the high from these capsules: lecithin, which apart from even being cheap, is safe. But you can still test your theory: just wash them down with a cup or two of coffee!

So let me know if I did this right. I have 14 grams, and I want each dose to be .2 grams. This means I would have 70 capsules. If I am using size 0 capsules, and put in .55ml of oil into each, would I need 2.5 tablespoons of oil in order to make 70 capsules of a .2 dosage? That is correct isn’t it?

Yup, that’s how I calculate it too. Remember to use some extra oil in the process to compensate for the filtering process though…I routinely add a tablespoon personally. And save the dregs to make firecrackers with. Good luck!

1. OK, I think you’re a bit confused here. I was merely advising you not to throw out the weed after you make the oil with it, because you can use it for firecrackers. I have no idea how much weed *you* normally use when making firecrackers.

2. I only use medical grade weed myself, so feel free to adjust as you think necessary.

3. I have a really low tolerance too, so it’s hard to tell you exactly how much to use with all these variables. I suggest making a test capsule that’s only half full, and taking that. If that works well for you, you’ve just saved yourself from making 70 capsules that are too strong!

Mr .Old Hippie….Thank You for all the great work and info., the best in the web cloud!! Done a lot of research/cross referencing. Suffer from cluster headaches for 25 yrs. and cannabis has worked for the last 5. Always looking for better solutions and results.
Many Thanks and grateful!

Hi out there, Thank you so much for such a great thread. I have been growing for 20yrs – love the plant. I don’t smoke… Have you tried juicing the fan leaves? apparently 10 fan leaves is a “dose” of cannabinoids. There is no ‘real’ high but all the medicinalness. I have been researching the making of oils, the coconut base is very handy as a salve for pain and healing. I am soon going to try making simpsons oil (for someone with cancer)….With outdoor growing alot of fan leaves are available at once…I froze the pure juice in ice cube trays. Handy for year round use. just melt in a cup of juice etc. throw in a smoothie. almond milk is really nice too.
Keep up the forum everyone!! Love

Greetings. Great article, with plenty of highly informative follow-up content!!!
Quick question: After reading this article http://www.marijuanagrowershq.com/decarboxylating-cannabis-turning-thca-into-thc/ it appears all that is necessary to decarboxylate is 240deg and enough time (or lower temp and more time). Can you please explain the purpose of drying in an oven, especially since already dried, and, for all practical purposes, moisture-free medical grade plant material is being used in a sufficiently high temperature crock pot? Thanks in advace…just wondering why one wouldn’t simply “cook” it solely in the crock, once up to temperature, for an hour? Maybe even 2?

Well…to be honest, properly cured weed, medical or not, is not quite “dried”. It should have enough moisture in it that it will remain fresh and strong-smelling while sealed, preferably in a glass jar. And it it’s done well, it can last at least a good few years without serious deterioration.

But too-dried weed (think of the Mexican brick variety) is probably decarboxylated already. If the stems snap easily, that’s a good sign. Also if it’s all brown and not green.

If you’re cooking for 4 hours or more, yes, your weed is probably decarbed by heating for that long (although I’ve never actually tested it). But most people don’t have the patience for that. And most long extractions are done at lower temperatures anyway, so it’s r easier to decarb separately and just not have to worry about it…for me at least.

Thanks for the quick reply! I made an attempt at some, and they didn’t turn out like I planned. I used a mini crock, cooked for about 4 hours, checking the temp along the way. It reached a final temperature of approx. 200 deg F, and that was early on in the cooking since I preheated the oil prior to putting in the crock. Unfortunately, the caps behave a lot like plain cbd, make me extremely tired and sleepy. Do you think I overprocessed the oil? Or could it be I need to decarb. the mixture first? Hard to tell since I don’t have any way to test. Thanks again.

From what you’re saying, it sounds like basically the same procedure I use. If you decarb the weed separately first, you’re assured that it’s been properly done. But after 4 hours, it should be decarbed anyway if it was ground up normally.

Are you saying that you’re getting a substantially different effect from the same weed? I’ve never seen that happen.

They worked out fine after all. Forgot to test on an empty stomach. 3rd batch was the best, decarbed first, then process into oil. My newest trick will be to inject a small amount of beeswax into the process to keep the capsules solid at any room temperature, except when hot enough to melt wax! Thanks again

The beeswax is a nice idea, but I’m hesitant to recommend it to “just everyone” because I’ve been told that it could potentially trigger a serious reaction in people who are unknowingly allergic to bee stings. If it works, though, let us know and maybe we can find a safer alternative. Or maybe that’s why they use carnauba wax in many pharmaceutical capsules even though it’s for cars! 🙂

This is an amazing guide! Thank you so much for all of your work. I love your blog. I do have one question for you though. Do you know how you would edit the math for this recipe if using AVB instead of fresh, decarbed bud? I’ve got quite the stash of AVB I’m itching to use, and this recipe looks perfect. I’ll probably be using a mini crockpot like you’ve recommended elsewhere.

A lot depends on how hot you run your vaporizer, but I start at 25% extra (I vape pretty lightly). I’ve heard of people doubling the amount for AVB, but frankly I think if your AVB is so burned that it needs to be doubled, you probably don’t have much of anything left in it. Either that, or you’re going to get a lot of CBD!

Hi! Fantastic site you have. Informational, easy to read and navigate, and everybody seems here to help.

I’m a patient in Seattle, and have struggled with localized fibro (neck and shoulder mostly though spread some to extremities) since about age 1 from a crib fall (I’m 49 now). It has presented itself as a daily headache since I was about 3, and it sometimes explodes into a full blown migraine. Only recently did I realize it could actually be called cervocegenic fibromyalgia.

I’ve done very little Western medicine for it though lots of alternative (including 40 plus ayahuasca ceremonies!). I have an addictive personality (ex-rock and roll photographer) so only used marijuana occasionally for fun and always hated the black market purchasing of it. I was more of an alcohol abuser.

Anyway, realized recently that cannabis does bring me relief so got my authorization from my GP. And lo and behold it’s changed my life. Topical’s in particular. I have been experimenting with all the readily available pre-made ones, but also using cannabis infused coconut oil and then massaging in a CBD rich (Harlequin) RSO on top of that (about a .1-.2ml rice grain smear). It’s amazing, one can get one quite high (though I have a very high tolerance so I wouldn’t be one to truly gauge), though it’s seemingly clearer and functional until I stop moving about and close my eyes. Then, it’s like, oh, I really am high! I like to vape a bit of sativa or good hybrid before the massage session starts – helps get motivated to self massage.

As far as the muscle pain relief, I would say the addition of the RSO to the ready made oil takes it up by 30% or so. So the ready made oils and creams work great, but I think getting the RSO deep in there as well over long term will have effects beyond just pain relief (ie anti-inflammatory etc). It’s an expensive way to use it, but daily pain doesn’t come cheap! And as long as I stay balanced with my cannabis use and continue with my other treatments alongside (chiro, homeo, acu, massage, etc) and a decent diet, then the tide will keep shifting, as it has since I started using cannabis daily several months ago. I would like to try an RSO diet, but the expense and commitment are a bit too much at the moment. If I had something terminal I would do it in a heartbeat but with a 1 and 4 year old can’t really be that medicated all the time. 🙂

I think cannabis topical’s are really powerful and vastly under looked, even within the MMJ community. It’s a shame the science hasn’t been done for all those suffering out there. It’s strong medicine – if used correctly. And I know all about not using it correctly! 😉

Wow, that’s a lot of great information, thank you! I didn’t realize fibro could be caused by a specific incident, either. I think RSO is great for pure power and its medical applications are only beginning to be explored. Thanks again for sharing your story. Nugs and hugs!

Hey thanks for the reply. Nice to make your acquaintance. What I have is probably closer to CMP (Chronic Myofascial Pain) than FM but it’s really been a baffling moving target. I think this is the best way to think of it in Western terms as a set of syndromes that all pile on top of each other (I suffer from a half dozen of these to some degree): http://www.fmnetnews.com/fibro-basics/related-conditions. Healing it has been a bit like peeling back the layers of an onion. The problem I had with ayahuasca is it wanted to peel the layers way too fast! It felt like it was just tearing me apart! But all in all it’s probably the most amazing medicine on the planet, but I’m taking a long break and using gentler means for now.

Anyway, even my naturopath has suggested trigger point injections (Procain) and will try soon (maybe at our apt tomorrow).

Now imagine the possible future: injecting a targeted cannabinoid solution into those trigger points. The possibilities are endless, though big pharma will probably just fuck it all up anyway :(.

Something else all MMJ patients should consider, esp if taking high CBD amounts for pain: since CBD’s (and the others) have such strong anti-inflammatory and other healing properties, it could be that you will experience Herxheimer’s as your dosage goes up (or one doses too quickly). Herxheimer’s is the healing process that can make one feel even shittier before feeling better – I get it often, esp with the strong drainage homeopathic medicine I take. If CBD’s etc are truly breaking down inflammation, old muscle mass (esp in my case with topicals), tumors,etc etc then that gunk has to go somewhere! I suggest lots of rehydrating, clean diet, saunas, and anything to balance the spleen and liver with the MJ. But if one takes a strong dose and wakes with a headache, it may be a bad batch or it may very well be your body processing out some bad shit! And actually as I get closer to healing this once and for all (fingers crossed) the pain is getting more intense, though more localized (a good thing), as the cannabis has allowed my muscles to relax enough to change the very nature of my the way my muscles work. It’s been a very painful process (exposing old covered up nerves, etc) but my very being depends on it. Anyway, lots of research to be done on cannabinoids and delivery methods, both by naturopathic and allopathic sides. A shame that people aren’t getting the relief they need.

My naturopath would rather I not be on cannabis, though she accepts the why. If not used properly and balanced it can really affect the system (in the traditional Chinese medicine sense), esp if one has any Spleen (Middle Burner) or Liver meridian issues. For example we had relatives visiting for a couple of weeks this summer and due to the stress I started burning way too much and drinking booze and eating gluten etc etc. I started to get really nauseous and dizzy, fatigued etc. and weed actually seemed to make it worse. Now I’m back to more micro-dosing and only vaping or topical and eating right and feel much better. Contrary to many burners I actually look forward to the day I don’t feel the need to use cannabis (maybe just now and then as issues crop up). But for now relief of pain (and the resulting depression from the pain) trumps all.

I am new to all this, just got my recommendation and have not tried anything yet. I am broke as usual and was wondering if you can get leaves for free? And does it matter what variety you use if you are just using leaves? I really want CBD with as little THC as possible as I am prone to panic attacks. Thank you for all your articles it is very interesting.

I made this last night I didn’t have capsules to fill, so i use a 1/4 teaspoon measure as a dose which is 1.2mls, including the weed particles, I didn’t bother to filter in the end.
My partner and I have quite a tolerance, so this is a good dose, the oil itself does not taste that bad, and i use a small shot glass and a piece of banana to mop up the oil to eat it

We had eaten dinner at around 7pm, and other snacks etc over the evening.
Took our first dose at 9:30pm and was feeling good
At around 10:30pm took a second dose, was very happy, and very comfortable
It is very slow and gradual high, unlike smoking.

I used a whole bud of low/med weed, measured to be approx 2g, (local dealer, probably not hydro)
So I halved the recipe to 15mls of oil, adding 5 extra mls to allow for filtering.
Used 1 tablespoon of copha oil (a tablespoon in Australia is 20mls)

I decarbed the weed for 7 mins (waited until I saw the weed slightly brown and fluff up) in the oven at 150C (which is just under the 157C/315F limit for THC, because my oven doesn’t go much lower without turning off) and ground to a power in a coffee grinder, added together in a coffee mug with oil and covered in A-foil for a lid, to protect from steam/water.
I simmered the oil and weed in my slow cooker (crock pot) on
First warm for 1.5 hours dry with no water,
Then turned up to low for 1.5 hours with 1 inch of water in the bottom.
then turned it off over night, leaving the oil in there.

Copha, an Australian product, is a form of vegetable fat shortening made from hydrogenated coconut oil. It is 100% fat, at least 98% of which is saturated. It also contains soybean lecithin. I emailed the Copha company and they advised that the trans fats is 0.8g per 100g. which is quite low, considering you only take around 1ml of oil.

Also in regard to the Lecithin issue with heart damage.
I researched the paper on the study, it is to do with one of nutrients in Lecithin, Choline
If this Choline mixed with a very Specific Gut flora, the study found *in Mice* this can cause a fatty build up in their heart leading to heart damage.
This is not from eating the small amount naturally occurring lecithin which is found in soy, eggs and wheat germ. but from feeding mice high doses of the straight Choline.
Mice with the specific gut flora had a higher chance of developing foam cells (cell full of fat and cholesterol) and this can move toward the heart and cause heart damage.

Choline is a well know supplement used by body builders for recovery,
and just one egg contain 125mg per yolk of lecthin.

Just remember you are dosing with nearly 1g of pure fat and if you’re on a fat or calorie restricted diet you will need to take this into account with your diet.

I have been using this recipe for several months to make canna caps from both High-THC and High-CBD strains. I have epilepsy, and the combination of high-THC and high-CBD oil has been the most effective medicine for preventing seizures I’ve ever used. These caps make it so easy and efficient to make and take the exact amount of medicine I need for each day. Thank you so much for posting this tutorial!

I actually help run the website GrowWeedEasy.com. I was wondering if we could repost this article on our website and in our newsletter (with full credit to you as the author, and a link back to your website, of course). I know our readers would get a lot of benefit from this recipe as many are patients with serious conditions.

In any case, I appreciate all your contributions to the medical cannabis community as well as how much you’ve helped me personally. Thanks for everything you do!

Nebula, I’m glad I see your comments here. I read your blog and get the newsletter and I find it a great resource for growers and users. I was just reading about these capsules for the first time today and they seem like a great way to get my meds, so it’s a great endorsement to see you praise the recipe. Thanks to both you and Old Hippie for continuing to help people out.

I love this guide and would like to try making my own, but my wife is concerned about having all of this go on at home with 2 very young kids.

I have a degenerative disc and it can cripple me some days. I don’t want to start using Vicodin but my wife isn’t cool with seeing weed around the house which caused me to use edibles. However pre-manufactured edibles can get me as high as a kite and I hate that feeling.

I sympathize greatly, having raised two kids myself (well, with Felicity of course). You might consider decarbing and making the oil (which is the part that smells oddly) one day while your wife takes the kids out for a movie and lunch, and then you could fill the capsules at night when they’re asleep. That way, you’re taking your own capsules with your own dosage.

I know people who have tried the Dixie Botanicals drops and felt they worked well, but they’re people who have conditions that specifically respond to CBD. If your disc problem is classified as neuropathic pain, it’s quite possible that the Dixie products will work for you too.

Hey! Just read this great article & your Bio as well. So happy you found ‘the cure’. I must say that the amount of information that is now available as to the BEST way to use this most amazing Plant of Life, is mind numbing to say the least! My head is literally spinning & I am more confused then ever. Does it have to be SO incredibly scientific? I mean, did our ancestors rely on science?

I am a fellow old Hippie & have recently found the NEED for weed in my life (Emotional trauma~not depression, just profound sadness over the loss of my incredible daughter to an impaired driver. And also chronic back pain). Here’s my dilemma..so I started revisiting the herb the way I knew best from my youth that sounds similar to yours re: various drugs, etc.. by smoking it. It works great, but I don’t care to smoke as it just gets me too high. I have a very sensitive system. So we began making cookies with butter, awesome. We have access to several strains & have really fine tuned the strength & ‘kind’ of results, i.e.. stay on the couch, or can’t keep still effect.

But here’s the thing…I find even just a small amount of the cookie now, just too much for me (heady). I have ADHD also, am a creative & critical thinker & my thoughts just get the best of me & it can be overwhelming. SO….I have been reading about tinctures. However, when researching just HOW to make them, I am inundated with just TOO MUCH INFORMATION. So MANY different approaches (hot cold) & various ways too make it, Leaves my head spinning & I just give up. So here I sit with plenty of herb not knowing what to do. I believe 100% in the health benefits of this miracle plant….I just don’t know the best way for me to use it. PLEASE help. Thanks so much. Peace.

Hey Old Hippie 🙂 I just reread my query & it may be confusing. This is what I would like to know….
I would like to use cannabis for health reasons (mostly @ my age for its anit-cancerous benefits). not looking to get high. So far in my mind boggling research I think that a tincture is the way to go but there are so many different recipes I am very confused. I just don’t see myself getting empty capsules & making them (unless of course this IS the best method). I already purchased some empty dropper bottles & would like to get started.
Currently we make cookies. We melt butter or coconut oil, put the powder (ground up shake & some bud in the butter, cook for a few minutes, then add to the batter & bake the delicious cookies). Here’s the problem. I have a very low tolerance & often get way too high (heady) and often get a headache. So I am doing something wrong! I see now that it is way more scientific than I thought, Most of my friends LOVE the cookies (I am very generous with my baked goods). So ANY advise you can give would be MUCH appreciated!!
Thanks in advance. Anxiously awaiting your reply. Peace.

Hi there. I don’t really know you, but this website has had some hosting problems in the last few days, and I haven’t answered anyone here since December 8 (the timestamps on the comments are all wrong, BTW, there’s a math glitch in this theme). I also have never made promises as to how fast I’ll answer questions, especially for what I charge people, which is nothing. That being said, I answer every question I see here as well as email, usually within 48 hours, and often within 4. If I haven’t, it’s generally for one of several reasons:

An unavoidable problem like a website/hosting/internet outage.

I’m not here and can’t get in remotely (which is actually #1, but whatever).

I don’t know the answer so I’m researching it.

Your question is extra important to me, so I’m taking extra time to study it.

I have never refused to answer someone, even if they’re suddenly acting like an asshole out of nowhere, but there’s a first time for everything.

You were #1 and #4. I’d hate for you to be #6. Would you like to try some indica, calm down, and try again? Please bear in mind that you did confuse me with your two questions and I wanted to take some extra time to look at them both again. I do take this stuff seriously.

I was told that after decarb, I should cover the product with Everclear , mix for three minutes to strip 80% of the thc from the product, strain the product again- add everclear and mix for three minutes to strip the rest of the thc out, then add resulting gasoline looking everclear in with your coconut butter and cook until the everclear evaporates from the surface…..then fill you caplets…my question is this…will the use of everclear really get more thc from the product?
Gus

I’m waiting for a lab to tell me whether coconut oil or alcohol is a more efficient solvent for THC, but frankly based on my own admittedly unscientific observations, I think they’re pretty close. I don’t think that will yield any noticeable improvement, but if I was making a huge batch it might be worth trying. What I will say is that the addition of lecithin does make a noticeable difference in the power of the capsules or oil (although it also changes the flavor).

This probably isn’t a problem for most people, but how much of an odor is produced from the Crock-Pot?
I’ve also been researching and comparing many other guides online and i found this one to be similar to yours.
( http://boards.cannabis.com/concentrates/140616-cannabis-capsules-step-step-guide.html )
The main difference in the process is that they do not include your 3rd step, the decarboxylation in the oven, but still seemed to have powerful capsules. Could you explain the advantage to this step? or the disadvantage of skipping it?

Odor: once the cannabis is decarbed, the odor is minimal, but it is there.

Decarb: I guess I’m going to have to write up a separate decarb article, because people keep thinking “it will happen when you cook”, and then they complain “I just wasted $200 worth of weed, wah!” The only way to make sure the weed is properly decarboxylated is to properly decarboxylate it! And that means a separate step. It “may” work without it, but medical marijuana should be about consistency and repeatibility, not “it might not even work”.

Would it negatively impact the process at all if i decarbed the bud, but then waited a week to heat it up with the oil? After it is decarbed is it more prone to losing its potency faster than it normally would?

so..I was sitting in my favorite lounger yestermorn, coughing my lungs from the vape i love, when it came to me that why not vape through my nostrils? So I rigged a small setup (pirated a spare sleep apenea nose pad section) and wow what a difference…..no cough what so ever and i draw in a whole lung full of vapor….fantastic take off …anybody else out there vape this way?

High Old Hippie,
2-4-6-8 Who do we Appreciate=Thank You & Thank You!
I gave Phyllis a hug from you & me. I started with the 1/8th (for Phyllis) I however increased mine to fine 1/4 Cup. The BEST was how to incorporate into the tea, the syringe was on high full=we had coconut/ veggie soup, Chaga, Lyngees Teas, my special Milk Chocolate Pecan Cookies. We spent the rest of the day into the wee hours= listening to 45’s, albums, laughing, drinking Chaga. 🙂 Next day Phyllis told me she was impressed that we (you & me) could actually make recipes that tasted so good, “she said she dreamed in vivid color”. In the long run she hasn’t felt this good in the past 4 months.

Hey! I want to try these, but I’m afraid, because I don’t want to do it wrong and waste weed!
I’m concerned about the decarboxylation process. Isn’t this the same thing that happens when you vaporize weed? If so, doesn’t the THC evaporate out of the weed?

Sigh…this is just a little ironic because one of the main reasons I started this site is because I was tired of reading complaints from people that they “wasted all their weed” by following recipes and procedures that had been handed down orally and never explained. So I determined that I’d explain exactly how everything works so nobody reading my stuff would be able to claim I was doing the same “follow this recipe slavishly and don’t ask questions” routine. But maybe I still haven’t explained it well enough yet.

So, yes, this is the same kind of thing that happens when you vaporize or smoke weed, but decarboxylation is done at a much lower temperature so you will not lose your precious THC. That’s why it’s called “decarboxylation” and not “vaporizing”!

Thanks! It sounds a little like I offended you; I didn’t mean to! I really love your site, and the way you do explain things. It’s just that so many others “explain” why their recipes work, but it’s obvious they have no idea what they’re talking about.

I just want to say thanks for doing all you do. It’s great that there’s a source on the internet we can trust. Your firecrackers recipe is one of my favorites! And thanks for answering my question so quickly!

I made these using O.H.s recipe as a base with a Rival Slow Cooker (2 Liter – about $15). I used about a 1/4 oz. of med-high bud, wrapped it in foil, and decarbed it at 225 F for about an hour. After decarbing, I bypassed the Diamond Grind for a much easier (for mass quantities – see TIP below) coffee grinder ($5) and added what had become a MJ powder to 3 tablespoons of Coconut Oil ($7 at the grocery store) in the Rival Slow Cooker. I cooked on low for the first hour, took a sample, then turned it down to the warm setting. I put the sample into a capsule and set aside to check for potency later. The 1hr sample proved to be much less potent.

After 3.5 hours in the slow cooker, I strained the oil through a thick coffee filter into a double shot glass, using a garlic press to get the last drops out. After letting the oil cool a bit, I used a standard oral syringe (free at my pharmacy’s counter) to fill up my 00 sized caps (a couple of American dollars for 100 capsules at the pharmacy counter). I didn’t have a capsule holder (or ammo holder), so I held each capsule by hand while I filled it up. This took a while, but I was watching a movie and content to go about my work. I was not (heavily) medicated.

RESULTS:
I ended up with about 50 pills that are quite strong. One pill will skyrocket the average person to a nearby galaxy. I would never give one to an inexperienced person; these pills are too concentrated (Remember the 0.25 oz of good bud). Because of my high tolerance, however, they are very much a maintenance dose. I can take one of these pills when I wake up that will last almost until noon. If taken 30 min before lunch – I can cruise through the workday medicated without getting stoned or worrying about my performance. Last night I took 3 at the beginning of the evening and 3 more about 3 hours later. I was stoned and only functional as long as I didn’t have to remember anything for longer than 5 seconds… fun Saturday night.

The capsules I have are clear, so I can see the contents. When refrigerated, some small, burnt-looking herb particles settle to the bottom and the green oil congeals above it. When the pills reach the 70 F mark, the oil melts and mixes with the herb particles to make a nice dark gold color.

If you use a coffee grinder, please read what it does to your bud. Don’t waste the good stuff. Grinding by hand is far superior.

The coconut oil will likely be solid at room temp, so warm it up in your slow cooker before adding the bud.

Regarding the smell: the popcorn worked, but I found the ultimate cover smell – liver sautéed on the stove. Breakfast sausage patties are even better if you don’t like liver.

If you want to stay high for a long time, take an edible on an empty stomach, then eat a meal about 30-60 minutes later. About 45 minutes after dinner, take another edible. The first one should kick in close to dinner. The other one will kick in much later in the evening, several hours, and send you flying out of nowhere. Remember – everyone is different, but the First Pass phenomenon is fun to play with if you are comfortable and experienced.

I was diagnosed with brain cancer a few weeks ago, and I am choosing to decline surgery, chemo, and radiation. I started on “Simpson” Oil over a week ago. I had a few bad experiences when I overdid it, so I’m trying to titrate.

I wound up reading this thread in hopes of learning of a better ways to take ingest it. Currently I am putting a rice grain size on a gluten-free gingersnap cookie, as they are dry enough to wipe the sticky resin on. Sometimes it takes an hour to kick in and sometimes 2 hours. But oddly I notice eating tends activate it. I’m not sure why this is after 1- 2 hours.

I was hoping to find a way to mix the premade “Simpson” oil with hempseed or coconut oil and capsulize it. Or something to keep it from sticking to my mouth and teeth. I hope to build up to a gram of oil a day, but I don’t want to eat that many cookies!

RSO does taste pretty rough, and I understand why you’d want to avoid eating it. You can simply drop your dose into a gelatin capsule and keep it simple! Eating cannabis with fat or fatty foods generally increases bioavailability, which means you get a lot more of those good cannabinoids. You don’t have to go overboard though, just any meal with 5 or 10 grams of fat eaten with your dose will trigger the right digestive mechanism. Hugs and nugs!

Thank you for your speedy and helpful reply! I actually don’t mind the taste of the RSO. But it adheres to my teeth and skin once it’s wet. I will give the gelatin caps with a grain of RSO & coconut oil a try. Do you know if it’s useful to vape RSO as well? When I have trouble getting back to sleep at night it would be nice to have a faster uptake. Thanks again!

Hi! I’m in the process of making this recipe, but altered for a smaller amount of yield. I’m using 2 grams of decarboxylated Sativa (Sour Diesel). I’m planning to use 2 TBSP of coconut oil. I wanted to *test* using the Cap-M-Quik filler with #00 gelatin capsules , so I used olive oil. I noticed that 1 TBSP of olive oil was only enough for 4 or 5 capsules, when the big half is filled to the top. This would lead me to believe that 2 TBSP would only yield about 10 capsules.

In your recipe, it says that 2 TBSP coconut oil, with an added 1 TBSP at the end, filled 40 capsules. (44 to be exact).

1. Should I be filling up the big half of the capsules only halfway? Or does the amount of liquid increase after cooking?
2. What are your thoughts on using only 2 TBSP coconut oil per 2 grams decarboxylate bud?

1. You’re using the big #00 capsules and I’m using the small #0 ones. That said, they’re not *that* much bigger. One tablespoon is 15 ml and a #00 capsule holds less than 1 ml, so I think you’re doing something wrong.

Adding to my post (since I can’t edit) if I use an eyedropper instead of syringe, I can get a few more out of it.

Secondly, after the bud was decarboxylated, I measured out the original 2 grams weight into teaspoons out of curiosity. I got 2 teaspoons from this. For the past couple years, I make firecrackers with 1 gram per a graham cracker square, my understanding was 1 tsp. = 4 grams, so in firecracker world, this original 2 grams weight would be 8 grams decarboxylated (2 tsp)….I’m a bit confused on that, since when I weigh it now after decarboxylating, it’s now 1.7 grams.

1 teaspoon is nowhere near 4 grams. I collect my AVB in a plastic medicine bottle, and when it’s full I have about 4 grams. And when you decarboxylate bud, it loses not only its carboxyl acid tails but its moisture, so it typically loses 10 to 25% in weight.

Hey old Hippie, I have read all the comments and the post and even the other article by Chuy and in none of the instructions does it say how to extract the coconut oil, like after I decarb the bud .. grind it with my fingers into the crock pot that I already have on warm with the cocunot oil in liquid form after I mix it for a few hours, what did you guys do to extract the oil? Like i know you use a coffee filter but do u like pour the whole thing out of the crock pot into a cup then put the filter around the cup and filter it into a shot glass? Or should i just rubber band a filter around a cup and tilt the crockpot to a corner where it can pour straight onto the cup? but will the liquid get dry in the cup if i don’t fill the capsules up fast enough?

and lastly aftr filling up all the capsules and putting them in a fridge like you said, wouldn’t it get all hard inside the capsule? do you have to take them out for a while before digesting?

I’ve been making cookies/brownies for a number years now from my own organically grown product here in Nova Scotia.(About 50 miles from Rick Simpsons former residence). Have always used butter but am a user of Coconut Oil for other purposes. Have never heard of decarbing. But am interested in making this oil. I just want to be certain I don’t waste any as the growing season here is almost over night temps down to 6 C(55 F).

HI OH, I have tried making these, only to slightly burn the coconut oil.I capped them regardless and they’re ok. The problem I’m having is maintaining a constant temp. So I’ve purchased a “little dipper” Crock-Pot. There was no information pertaining to temps with the product so I contacted Crock Pot and this slow cooker only reaches a high of 165 degrees F. This I believe is too low.??? Any suggestions on a product selections?

Well, I don’t know what to say about that, other than the design holds in heat and I’ve measured mine (same unit) numerous times with a laser thermometer at 180 to 220F, depending on ambient temperature. And needless to say it works fine.

Convinced! I’ll give this a try.Thanks OH. By the way, I read many of your posts and was saddened to hear you suffer from one of the same ailments I deal with all to often, depression. It’s been a life long challenge, but this natural medicine works best for me, with no side effects. Love it!

Hi!
I have a question, not sure if it’s been answered somewhere along this stream lol I used avb and made some AMAZINGLY strong canna oil 🙂 my question is is there a difference between decarbing and using avb? Would the effect be vastly different/greater with decarbing? Thanks! ????

Hi, love your webpage and the great detailed information! I’d like to make coconut oil capsules and alcohol-free glycerin tincture. Do you know anything about decarbing in the freezer? I’ve read a few blogs about it, but without any details. I want to completely avoid heating it. I live in a condo and smells waft into the hallway and lobby. Cannabis is legal here in Washington state, but our condo rules about it are strict. Such smells are not allowed outside of our units. Thanks 🙂

I have 1 gram of Hawaiian Snow that’s been in the freezer for two years, it’s crumbly. I have size 0 capsules and coconut oil. I’ll just grind up enough for one capsule and add a few drops of coconut oil to it, and see if it works without heating.

hi! great info here. been making caps from activated hash oil mostly (colorado medical patient for years, spoiled in oil avail), so mostly has just been bonding already activated honey or co2 oil or reclaim which is also activated with coconut or mct oil, my favorite stable fats. anyway things have been harder lately, with my lyme harder to go get activated oil with cbd, but thankfully i ended up with an oil that is 70% cbda 7% thc, lab tested, blows away any cbd oil ive ever seen. since i am a med patient i could actually get a second gram. anyway sorry to ramble, what i was wondering was difference of decarboxylation for oils vs flower, and in this case specifically cbd vs thc cannabinoids. i have read they should be heated at very different temps to activate different cannabinoids. does anyone have advice for what temp (coconut oil and mct max aroun 320 degrees) i should heat at to activate all that cbd, since it is indeed mostly cbda in there and not ready yet. have considered myself a capsule expert, made thousands of all varying strengths, but i have never activated oil that was in this proportion. most i have done is 1:1 cbd :thc oil, which is difficult bc u change temps a lot, but i’ll admit defeat and being lost here, not sure if i should even try, thought that much cbd is miraculous and i feel like could cure my 20 yr lyme case (just diagnosed!) once and for all, and all the toxic molds and bs making it worse for me. any info would be great, much love to everyone, i hope i and everyone here have helped in any way, and you find relief through the way god or gaia however you slice it intended, the best medicine, the healthiest medicine. thanks and much love to all

You are quite correct, THC and CBD not only vaporize at different temperatures, but decarboxylate at different temperatures. CBD magic always happens at a higher temperature. Luckily, these all happen lower than the 320F that coconut oil starts breaking down at, although I personally prefer decarbing cannabis on its own and not mixed with anything.

I have yet to personally decarb oil, because we generally use that for vaping only, but I’ve found a number of sources (with lab backup) that discuss decarbing CBD specifically at 250F (and one more that claims you need 280):

Just made some coconut oil using a 1/2 OZ of ABV to 1 cup of liquid cooking coconut oil. Lost a bunch during straining but managed to get a 1/2 a cup back. I weighed 1ml of oil before putting in capsule and it weighed 1 gram so I’m curious how you get .1 into a capsule because 1ml filled the 00 perfectly. Now I’m just waiting for results, took 2 20 minutes ago so I’ll let you know.

How do you get each dose at .1 because I measured that on my scale an it was barely a drop or 2, not nearly enough to fill the 00. The 1/2 OZ to 1 Cup of oil worked great though and 2 caps feels like a strong firecracker which is why I made them. Nutella and graham crackers taste great but not good long term for maintaining weight. I usually use 1gram of ABV on a whole cracker which is a great dose for me.

When I was talking about a dose of 0.1 gram of cannabis per capsule, it was based on dividing the total amount of cannabis (4 grams) by the number of capsules the finished oil filled (40). So, 4 / 40 = 0.1. You can’t reasonably do that by weighing, and it wouldn’t make sense in any case because most of the weight is in the oil itself.

I may rewrite the article because if this confused you, it might have confused other people too. Sorry about that!

Hey Old Hippie, thanks for a great informative site! I have some Organic Cold-Pressed Coconut Oil. Is this inferior to Extra Virgin? Will using this effect the potency of the finished product? Thanks in advance.

As far as I know, all coconut oil has the same fat content, in which case it will give you the same potency. There are health/food fans who will argue the merits of cold-pressed vs. virgin all day, but I’m not one of them. I buy a huge vat of the stuff at Costco once a year or so, and it’s Nutiva brand, which is apparently (I never paid much attention to this, but I just read the label for you) organic, cold-pressed, extra virgin, and probably cruelty-free and solar hybrid too 🙂 Nugs and hugs!

Can someone tell me why you can’t just place decarboxylated cannabis powder in the capsules and then consume them? Seems so much more simple to skip the whole oil-infusing process altogether. I have looked around the Internet and I have so far seen NO ONE do this; can someone explain why? It sounds like a pretty good idea.

Well, actually, you can. But it’s much harder to get a repeatable dose, because home-ground cannabis is usually not uniform enough to do that, whereas liquid is. And you can probably get higher doses into oil than from the amount of powder you can stuff into a capsule. Finally, some people’s stomachs don’t do at all well with the plant matter itself.

I made canna aps with 7g of medical grade herbs and 1/4 cup of coconut oil in a double boiler. The temps while cooking were 180f. I then loaded up 50ish o caps. The result was not good and yes I did de carboxylate at 225 for 30 mins prior. Question, I went a got a mini crock to try again, I put a qtr cup coconut oil in and ran it for an hour as a test, it stays at 240f. Is this too hot?

(Trying again because last night this thing went nutz and lost a bunch of replies…)

I would decarb at 200F/1 hour or the original 250F/22 minutes mentioned in the article. That should give you pretty strong results (250F/30 minutes might work even better).

240F is unusual in a mini crockpot. They are a bit inconsistent, but usually average right in the sweet spot 190 to 210F. However, even at 240 you’re way under the scorch or burn point for coconut oil, just let it cool down before trying to put it into caps. And remember, everyone has a different tolerance so you might need 2 or 3 capsules to my one!

This was my second run at this, the first was not successful. This time I used 7g of blue dream bud and a qtr cup of coconut oil. Decarbed at 250 for 30 mins and then4hrs in mini crock pot, strained and loaded up 50 oo caps. I could feel 1 that I took before dinner and then 2nd an hour after. Yes, relived pains and relaxed for the evening, what surprised me is the difference in vaping vs edible of the same bud from the same container. The edible was much more of a body thing and longer lasting vs vaping the same bud provided head, body more intense high, although shorter lasting. I’ve been reading that the liver converts the thc into a different type of thc during digestion and wondering if that might explain.

It’s true that edible cannabis works via 11-hydroxy-THC, but it’s still unclear whether the different effects are due to the difference between that and regular old delta-9-THC. In many cases, people don’t vape bud at a high enough temperature to get much of the CBD present (assuming there is any), so vaping has the reputation of being a “head high”. When you infuse it into oil, however, you get everything in the plant, CBD included. One way for you to experiment with this would be to smoke some of the same Blue Dream. Since smoking also gets you “everything”, see if the effects of smoking are more like the edible or more like vaping, and let us know. Nugs and hugs!

I have spent enjoyable hours and days learning on your site. I have not had a chance to see all entries… yet. I just wanted to drop this off here.

Tacking is the term. It is used for cannabis oils like RSO and the like. I have tried it a few times with good success. It is a way to administer the oil with a goal to help with pain while avoiding the high. Eating/drinking risks ingesting the oil after tacking and exploration of head space can be the outcome; so best to have a few hours between meals to practice this method.

Start with super small amounts, like a third of a short grain rice kernel and work up from there.

Okay so I’m trying to get my math right and have a couple questions. I’m planning on making a batch out of 10g, and I’ll be using size 0 caps. So if I want each dose to be around .1 I’ll use about 3.5 TBSP of oil correct? (100ish caps assuming I use about .5ml in each cap) If my math is right this should be good, the problem comes with the loss of oil. If I add in more oil at the end to get back to 3.5 TBSP won’t that dilute the dosage to less than .1g per cap? If I’m wanting them pretty strong would I be better off just not diluting it and filling as many caps as I can with .5ml?

Well…first of all, you might not be able to physically fit 10 grams into 3.5 TBSP of oil, let alone dissolve all the cannabinoids. Also, remember that you seem to be talking about 0.1 grams of *cannabis* in each cap, and that could be as much as 200 milligrams of THC or more if extracted correctly, which is an insanely high dose for most people.

Okay, so how much would you recommend using with around 10 grams? Should I start with 3.5 TBSP and then slowly add oil until it covers the matter completely? And okay, that makes a little more sense, I was just talking about the equivalent of a bowl or whatever you said in the instructions. I’ve tried my hand at tincture and while it did work, it wasn’t quite as strong as I wished. Ive heard that these caps can be pretty potent, I’m just a little skeptical especially since my tolerance is fairly high. (6-7 MFLB hits to get to a 3-4)

Yes, that’s a good way of getting as much in as you can. First decarb and grind the cannabis, then add the minimum amount of coconut oil to cover it completely. Depending on how fine you grind it, you might well get all 10 grams in.

BTW, your edible tolerance is not necessarily the same as your vaping tolerance, so don’t obsess on making the capsules as strong as possible. If they end up too strong, you’ll have to take them all apart! There’s no real downside in taking two capsules instead of one, if necessary, as the capsules themselves cost next to nothing.

Hi all. I have been reading this post carefully and now need some help. I have a friend coming tomorrow suffering with Fibro and many other pain related ssues. He has tried Vaping cannabis but being a complete CANNABIS VIRGIN -it was too much for him. He has tried edibles and cannot tolerate. So- he wants to try capsules. I need to make a small batch of very low dose caps. I have some quality bud and lots of good sugar/popcorn bud trim. Can someone tell me a mix ratio of cannabis to trim to make such low dose caps.

I just looked up avocado oil and it has plenty enough saturated fat (12%) to be quite efficient in absorbing dissolved cannabinoids. While it will remain liquified at room temperature, it will solidify in the refrigerator. That’s good for storing capsules, but I have never actually used it to make capsules so I don’t know if it will dissolve the gelatin from the inside. It would be great (and very tasty!) for cooking, I bet! You might want to put some in a single capsule overnight and see if it’s OK before you commit to making a large quantity with avocado oil. But please let me know how it works out! Nugs and hugs!

My wife doesnt like the effects of thc, so can the MMJ not be heated to decarboxylate the thca. I’ve read somewhere soaking the stems and stalk or even buds in oil for days will create an induced cbd oil? Do you have any insight? I read your other on cbd best ways, but does eating it raw pose any risks? Thank you for your knowledge OH, it is appreciated greatly ✌

You’re asking some great questions here! First the bad news: you can’t just buy random street weed, or even expensive medical cannabis, and do anything to it that will “magically” create CBD where there is none.

But “no CBD” is not the same as “no THC effects”. So you’re absolutely right that if you avoid decarboxylating in your processing, you will also avoid changing the THCa in the plant to THC (assuming it’s fairly fresh). If you wanted to try that for Canna Caps, I would grind it up well and then soak the ground bud in coconut oil for a few days (using the amounts in the article), which should cold-infuse the oil with THCa. Without straining the plant matter out, get an oral syringe and try swallowing 1.2 ml of the oil off the top (away from the ground cannabis, which should sink to the bottom). This is equivalent to two #0 capsules, which should be enough to feel something. Please let me know what happens; if she feels nothing I still have a few more tricks to try.

THCa is anti-inflammatory, anti-emetic (fights nausea), and neuroprotective. It also works against the spread of prostate cancer (although this is unlikely to be relevant to your wife), but it may help with pain and muscle spasms. If none of these are relevant to her either, feel free to post again (or write to me privately from the Contact page).

Eating cannabis raw poses the real risk of irritating your throat, mouth, and/or stomach because there are small hairs on many of the plant parts, so if you are intent on trying raw cannabis, it’s recommended to put the leaves through a juicer and drink the juice. The usual warnings about making sure there’s no chemical/fertilizer/pesticide on it applies even more, or you could put it through the 7-day water cure, which would be an article by itself.

Thank you for this. I basically followed your instructions exactly except i used 7 grams of weed and 3 tablespoons of coconut oil, which resulted in about 102 capsules full (size double 00). However, some of the caps are filled like 50% of the way and the others are 75% of the way. I am having some trouble figuring out the formula, to figure out how many mg of thc are in each of these. Could you help?

I also added 1 gram of cannabutter (that i buy from the dispensary which has 30mg of thc per tsp) directly into the coconut oil mixture while it was heating up.

OK, so i found this edible calculator that lets you input info and gives you thc percentage. Assuming each of my capsules is equally filled up and not including the additional cannabutter i added, i input 7 grams, 102 servings, 15 %thc (i know the percentage from the thc dispensary i get it from) and it said each one should have 10.3 mg per serving. Does that sound correct? Thank you for your help!

When i was finished making it and it cooled down completely i was left with quite a bit of “candy rock” from what i am guessing is the sugar that didn’t dissolve completely. So i think maybe boiling it for longer will be better. Have you ever made anything like this? Any recommendations?

Hmm…they’re not decarbing or keeping the weed in long enough with the vegetable glycerin (not sure that propylene glycol will even work well for this), and the ratio is poor, so I don’t think it will work well at all. Certainly the rock candy is an indication that there’s too much sugar in the solution, but you’d have to Google around for candy-making sites to help with that problem.

If I was doing something like this, I’d simply decarb 3.5 grams of weed, then use 3 tablespoons of vegetable glycerin with heat, exactly like the coconut oil recipe on this page. Strain, put into a dropper bottle, and you have some good VG-based tincture that you can drop into any drink you like!

I’ve followed for a while now, just had another great batch. 1/4 cup coconut oil and a qtr oz of Casey Jones. 240 degrees for 40 minutes to decarb, then 3hrs in the mini croc. These things are so good.

I made my first batch and I think I did everything wrong. Is there any hope for it?

I used 4 g and 6 Tbsp of coconut oil. My strain is low in THC because I don’t want to get high.

I read something on the supplier’s site saying it was already decarbed, so I skipped that step. I later realized they were talking about their own oils when they said that. Can’t get my strain in oil yet.

I did heat it in a 200°F oven for 6 hours, so hoping that made up for it. But I did so with it uncovered. Did I let some potency escape?

I need this to be concentrated because I can’t add a lot of oil to my diet. I took 1 ml first. 4 hours later, tried 2 ml. 4 more hours, tried 2.5, then 3 at bedtime. Haven’t noticed any pain relief. Today tried 5 ml, still nothing.

My pain is mostly muscular, some acute. Do I need more THC for that? Is CBD more for neuropathic?

This is my first time trying MMJ for pain relief.

Can anyone offer any suggestions, either to get better results, or to salvage this batch?

I really appreciate all the amazing advice here.

Just to add, I can’t do baked edibles, because I don’t eat flour or sugar.

OK, first of all, I appreciate the part where you don’t want to get high. But the way to do that is to adjust the dosage (just as with any other medicine). In fact, that’s even more important for someone who has to avoid oil in their diet. So you should make a strong oil and then just take a small amount of it. That’s a lot better for you than deliberately buying weak medicine, diluting more than necessary, and so end up swallowing a lot more oil overall.

The reason we publish recipes and procedures is that they work. We have made gallons of infused oil and many thousands of capsules, so please, folks, don’t start messing about with the recipes until after you’ve already tried them and seen how they work for you. If the oil is too strong or weak for your taste, you’ll know how to adjust it next time, but you can’t tell until you actually do it yourself. Makes sense, yes?

OK, now on to what you did. If I read that correctly, you did not decarb your cannabis “dry” in the oven, but just put it into the coconut oil and left it in the oven for 6 hours. Did you grind it, at least? Did you stir? If so, your finished oil is probably OK, if a bit weak. If you tell me what %THC you got, I can give you a rough idea of dosing based on the quantities you used. If you didn’t grind it, and you haven’t thrown away the “sludge”, we can fix that too.

Let me know what’s what and I can figure out how to fix it, if possible.

You might have missed the CBD article, but yes, that’s mostly for neuropathic pain, while THC is generally best for “regular” pain. You should be choosing strains based on characteristics of the strain itself: some work better than others on pain, notwithstanding the amount of THC. I’m not sure what strains you have available wherever you are, but let’s first try to salvage what you have and work from there. Nugs and hugs!

Thank so much for getting back to me. I think I did so much research that I overwhelmed myself with info. The supplier’s web site FAQ had a statement that their product was already decarbed, and I double checked that, but when my friend thought that couldn’t be true, I looked again and realized it was in a section describing their own oil process.

The strain I used was prescribed to me, but I can’t smoke or vape because I get chronic sore throats, and they don’t have any stock of ready-made oil in that strain (yet). I’ve gotten paranoia from smoking weed in my teens, which is why the low THC, I think. Two of my doctors are extremely nervous about me even trying MMJ, but two others have been recommending it like crazy.

I read in the last part of Math Management that if the oil was for a new user, to use the ratio of 3.5 g to 6 or 8 T. My scale doesn’t measure in half grams, so I did 4 and chose 6 rather than 8 T because I didn’t want it too weak. I am a new user, for sure, having not touched marijuana in decades! But I really was trying to follow the instructions as closely as possible.

The sludge is gone (or rather, in my compost bin under turkey bones), but I did grind it down to small particle size. The ratio of my product, called Godbud2, is 0.7% THC and 16% CBD. But this is just a starting point in figuring out what will help me, so if more THC is needed, I will certainly move toward that in my next order (just have to get a minimum of 15 g, but I can mix two strains if I need as well).

I will go and read the CBD article, and others on your incredible site. I found the canna caps page through a search engine and didn’t see the rest of the information available. Wow! Thanks again, Old Hippie. I am very grateful for your dedication to this.

Cheryl

P.S. My titration got me up to half a tablespoon of oil, which isn’t ideal going forward. But I’m starting to notice some pain improvement, and I had a helluva dream last night. It would make a great movie someday, complete with car chase scene. As a side note for anyone looking for something to disguise the taste, salsa works great!

Ha! You did everything right, pretty much, no worries. But I guess I’ll have to be more careful in my descriptions…when I warned “new users” to go with higher dilutions, I was thinking of most of the typical people who overdose themselves with top-grade 22% THC cannabis…not you with your 0.7%! I have used strains like your Godbud2 and they are very, very specialized. I calculated that you’re getting around 0.25 mg of THC per 1 ml of oil…not enough to do anything to anyone. On the other hand, you’re getting around 5 mg of CBD per 1 ml of oil…probably about a minimal amount to feel anything. Half a tablespoon would give you about 40 mg CBD and still only 2 mg. THC.

We can fix your oil easily (making it strong enough to use reasonably) if you still have some cannabis left, or you can get more of that strain. In any case, if you send me a link to your supplier’s website (I’m deducing that you’re in Canada), I can look at the strains and see if I can figure out which might work best for you as far as pain, and we can work on keeping your CBD intake high enough to stop any possible anxiety/side effects from THC.

I can mix two strains if I need as well

I hope you mean “for the order”. Don’t pre-mix your strains in the oil, please keep them separate.

My supplier is mettrum.com. I am realizing, though, that this strain is making me too revved up. I tried smoking a small amount, just to see exactly what it can do for me. Anxiety, like nervous energy, talking a mile a minute, changing subjects in mid thought, figity. Good to help with fatigue, and decent pain masking for about 3 hours, but the rebound pain and fatigue are brutal. More harm than good in the end.

I am looking to switch to a dispenser who stocks Avidekel (medreleaf.com, probably). Tried vaping a friend’s, and much better. Similar profile to godbud2, but indica instead of hybrid, I believe.

Yes, in Canada. Lucky to have many options.

Thanks again SO much. Your site is teaching me a ton and this personal attention is truly a gift.

Before you leave mettrum, please consider trying some Mettrum Green #4. To me it jumped out as something that sounds perfect for you, especially when taken with a high CBD strain like Avidekel. You’re really learning fast!

My Green #4 arrived today. Going to try smoking it before I make more oil. Still have several grams left of my Yellow #1 as well. I will definitely decarb first and aim for more potent oils when I make them (separately, not mixed).

Failure – I’ve successfully made caps many times and greatly prefer this form of consumption (medical patient all legal). But on the last try something happened and I lost an entire ounce of high grade medical. I have used a magical butter machine for caps as well as crockpot for the smaller runs. This run was with the machine, total failure. I did everything as usual Decarb, etc. etc. etc and won’t go through the steps as the article already does that, but basically the machine wants two cups of oil to an oz of high-grade herb. Everything looked right at the end, but the caps had zero effect. I was really surprised and tried them at different times before eating after eating, not eating etc. even taking two oo caps, nothing. I know the herb is top noting about this I realized I did use a different brand of coconut oil, it’s the only thing I did different. It was Spectrum organic oil, label says organic, expeller pressed, non-hydrogenated, with 9g of medium chain triglycerides. Saturated fat 60%, trans fat 0, polyunsaturated 0%.

Wow, this sounds weird. I’m not familiar with that particular oil, and its saturated fat content seems a bit lower than usual for coconut oil, but nowhere low enough to be inefficient to the extent that it wouldn’t work.

Did you try that batch of herb a different way to make sure it was good? Did the machine seem to heat up like usual? Baffling.

Yes, I had a small bowl of it prior and the herb was very good. Two things are possible – There is the oil, it was the first time I had used it instead of the other mentioned in the article. The second is speculation, I noticed the handle had cracked where the lid “plugs” into the handle. The machine it up and did run for the selected time. When I first got it I checked the temps etc to insure it did what was advertised but over time learned to trust it, so I did not watch or check or anything like that. Just went and did my thing after it was done. BTW, I contacted them and they have no parts only replacement machine. After this and no effect from a top-shelf ingredient I took the handle and connectors apart to examine them and it doesn’t look to me that the electrical connections should have been affected, but……I just don’t know. I have never had an issue with the crock pot method and I think I’d better focus on that. Speaking of that, I was told another way to avoid straining is to wrap the herb loosely in cheesecloth, tie with bakers string and put that in the crock pot with oil…hmmmm any comment?

All I can say about your MBM problems is that if it’s whirring properly and heating properly, it should work just as well as a crockpot or a Pyrex jar in the oven, so I suspect something is wonky with the heating. If you really want the extra efficiency, just buy an immersion blender and have at it!

Which brings us to your other point. The “ball of weed” method avoids straining, but it also prevents proper stirring, and cheesecloth absorbs and wastes a lot of oil. Use the bubble bag, like the one from MBM, and you won’t waste any oil or have trouble straining…drain overnight and you get it all, even with glycerin!

Mix coconut oil and GSC crumble in an oven save container
Cover container with tin foil place container in crockpot on high for 1.5-2hrs
Remove container and let cool slightly
Suck up liquid into 20 cc syringe (about 12 ml)
Put oil from syringe into the 14 capsules
Take 2 at your own risk

What kind of capsules are you all using? We made some of the rick simpson oil for treating aggressive cancer, and after a few days the capsules turned to mush (even when filled with a small amount). We used a veggie-capsule ordered from Amazon. Any suggestions for a better capsule?

I re-edited the article, putting the warning not to use vegetarian capsules in bothbold and italic for the future. There’s also a link to the best brand and vendor we’ve found after 6 years of doing this. Also, fuck cancer! Nugs and hugs and best of luck!

Good Morning! I kind of “winged it” yesterday, and didn’t think to look up the exact instructions before I threw everything in the crock pot. So, I missed the oven step. I used 3.5 grams of week and about a third cup of coconut oil. After reading this article this morning, I realized that the step that I missed was pretty pertinent. The thing is, is that I don’t really care about the high. I am using it for Lyme disease and filled each capsule with one drop of Frankinscense oil and one drop of turmeric oil, before I finished the rest off with the weed oil. I am hoping that I didn’t just destroy that whole batch by not “decarbing?” it? I am pretty new to this whole thing, and would actually rather NOT feel the high, but I am hoping that I will still get the health benefits from taking it as it is. Any thoughts on this? Do you think that the caps will still be helpful without the oven step? I haven’t put the whole batch into pills yet, so if there is something that I can do to the oil after-the-fact to save the batch, that would be great! Also, I don’t have cheesecloth available so I haven’t strained it. I was thinking that since it is going to be in gel caps, it wouldn’t hurt to just go ahead and have some of the remnants in the caps. I am a single Mom with this disease, and am so exhausted…. I am cutting every single “spending energy” corner that I can. 😉 I feel like it sounds pretty lazy to not strain it, but if I don’t have to, I don’t want to!!!

Wow, I really sympathize! And you’ve obviously done some research on Lyme disease (and that’s a good thing, because I didn’t know those other oils would help at all). Now the thing is, THCa (the stuff you get if you don’t decarb) does not get you high, but it’s an excellent anti-inflammatory, and it has other medicinal properties. So I wouldn’t worry about “wasting” that batch at all. If you’re specifically looking for pain relief, you will probably get a lot more of that if you decarb next time though.

Straining won’t make it any stronger, and won’t make it appreciably weaker, but the plant material can irritate some people’s stomachs, and makes it much harder to fill capsules, so straining is generally recommended. But I promise not to call the capsule police if you don’t 🙂

Decarbing time and temperature doesn’t change, whether you’re decarbing a gram or a pound, it’s still 250F for 30 minutes. Just make sure it’s all exposed to the heat evenly and not in piles (for those of you with a pound).

Well, hemp seed oil has very low fat, almost as low as canola, so it’s one of the least efficient things to use. And if you’re looking to get away from the weed taste, that’s not going to help much either…and it won’t make it “stronger”, if that’s what you’re thinking.

They might be doing it for marketing purposes or because Rick Simpson unaccountably calls his product “hemp oil”. But there’s no real benefit over using coconut oil in either case that I know of. Nugs and hugs!

Well, in that case, you can treat that just like medium strength bud as far as the recipe, because that’s what 10% THC content basically means. When people say “oil”, that usually implies much higher THC levels of 60 to 90%. So since it’s only a gram, I would just decarb it in a suitable container and then mix it with 2 TBSP of coconut oil. That should give you nearly 50 #0 capsules of 2 mg THC each, mild enough even for me 🙂

I would like to make canna caps using .5 gram of BHO wax. I see recipes for flower but not much for wax. Is there a calculator out there to help figure out how much coconut oil to use and how many caps it should produce depending on the size

It’s much easier to work with wax or oil concentrates than flower. There are some comments here that touch on it, but once you’ve decarbed your wax (just like flower), you can mix it with liquid coconut oil and you’re good to go. For figuring stuff out, you already know the capacity of the capsules, and use these handy formulas to calculate the dosage.

Very good recipe I found one just like this on medical jane but it doesn’t decarb and has some interesting way of making like a teabag, You put the ground up cannabis in a cheesecloth type packet and wrap it up together with cooking twine and letting that sit in the oil. pretty interesting thanks Old hippie

Hi. I’m totally new to cannabis as medicine but my husband has brain cancer. I wanted to make the RSO but I’m really concerned about the solvents. It makes total sense – mix this cannabis oil with coconut oil. I think for the first batch of oil I will try cannabis infused coconut oil. My only concern is with the dosage. You’re supposed to use an amount no larger than half of long grain rice for the first 4 days 3 times a day doubling every 4 days until you reach 1 gram per day. So how could I give him the same dose using the capsules?

Now that we have that part straightened out…RSO is extremely strong concentrated cannabis. A batch is traditionally made from a pound of cannabis, though you can make smaller batches from as little as an ounce. If you don’t want to make it yourself, you can generally buy vials of quite similar concentrated hash oil at dispensaries, but you have to make sure it was made properly (as you noted, solvents are a potential problem, so I advise people to use CO2-extracted oil for safety). And that is the oil your husband would be eating in tiny pieces.

Please do not confuse concentrated cannabis oil like that with what we’re making here, which is extracting the cannabinoids from a very small amount of cannabis (a few grams only) and putting them into coconut oil. This stuff we are making here is indeed for people with mental, emotional, and physical problems, but the dosage is nowhere near what you’re looking for if you are attempting to cure cancer!

If you need more help, I encourage you to write back, because I want to help if I can. There is a safe way to make your own RSO if you don’t live in a place where there are dispensaries.

Could you please explain what data you have on lecithin being hard on the heart? Are you talking about soy lecithin or sunflower lecithin? From what I understand, the sunflower lecithin is fine to add.

I just found this information about the difference between soy and sunflower lecithin and now think you must have been talking about soy lecithin not sunflower, which I now believe should be fine to use in my capsules:

THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SUNFLOWER LECITHIN AND SOY LECITHIN

Soy and sunflower lecithin are two of the most popular lecithin supplements. Sunflower lecithin is the more expensive option because of the differences in production costs and yield. There are however definite advantages that sunflower lecithin has over soy lecithin.

One of the main advantages is the extraction process; sunflower lecithin gets extracted without the need for potentially damaging chemical solvents such as acetone and hexane.

Sunflower lecithin is also processed through a cold press system like the one used to derive olive oil and similar products.

It is the only lecithin which is obtainable both chemical-free and raw.

Sunflower lecithin is rich in choline and other essential fatty acids such as phosphatidylinositol.

Soy lecithin is derived by using dangerous chemicals like hexane.

Some people may develop soy allergies.

Soy is often genetically engineered.

There are concerns of elevated estrogen levels by consuming soy and soy lecithin.

I am taking care of a family member who has a feeding tube and cannot swallow solids. They can still swallow liquids or can have liquid medications added to their feeding tube. I have talked to a nurse who makes these caps (she gave me the link to your site!) and without going into much detail, she says she’s had good results.

I plan on making a batch of this with 2 grams of potent buds into 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, which should give me approximately 30 very potent 1ml doses. If I leave the canna-coconut oil all together in the fridge, will there be a problem with continually heating it to liquid and recooling it to a solid?

Tl;dr: would allowing the oil to go from solid to liquid and back again many times have any negative effects? Any chance the oil could go rancid, for instance?

Overheating could potentially cause rancidity (which is generally due to age/exposure to oxygen), but not gentle heating in most cases. The liquid/solid transition itself is not a problem, but you can also use MCT oil (basically coconut oil with lauric acid removed) to make your batch, and it will stay liquid…problem solved!

Nugs and hugs to your family member, and to you for taking such careful care of them, and your nurse friend too!

Great instructions. I have a question though, in a previous reply you said :

“Please do not confuse concentrated cannabis oil like that with what we’re making here, which is extracting the cannabinoids from a very small amount of cannabis (a few grams only) and putting them into coconut oil. This stuff we are making here is indeed for people with mental, emotional, and physical problems, but the dosage is nowhere near what you’re looking for if you are attempting to cure cancer!”

Is coconut oil infused flowers any good against cancer or do you really need to have cannabis oil?

Here’s what I wrote to someone else about cancer on a Granny Storm Crow page:

So to answer your question…no, there is no medically recognized proof that cannabis oil can cure bone cancer, or any other cancer for that matter. This doesn’t mean that it can’t or won’t work, only that medical science does not recognize it as a cure, due to the statistically-based nature of medicine. For that matter, as far as I know there is no medicine of any kind that is accepted as an actual cancer cure.

Virtually all medical treatments using cannabis are considered experimental medicine, which means you are pretty much on your own in terms of help from most doctors, other than the most knowledgeable and compassionate ones who are willing to consider “whatever works and is considered medically safe”, rather than the more typical “I’ll do whatever everyone else does”. That’s probably why you’re here instead of talking to an oncologist…they’ve probably already given you bad news.

So nobody can legitimately tell you that cannabis will cure cancer, but nobody can tell you with a straight face that chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery will cure it either. They will tell you about 5-year survival rates instead, because they can’t actually offer a guarantee for every case. What I can and will tell you is that many people with cancer have gotten a great enhancement in their quality of life and pain by using cannabis in various forms, and quite a few have reported complete remission of cancer as well. If you or a loved one has the horror of bone cancer, you have little to lose by trying cannabis along with other treatments as approved by doctors.

Now that you’ve read that…the concept that Rick Simpson came up with to fight cancer was to get as many cannabinoids into the body as possible, so he came up with using highly concentrated oil that he made from flowers by basically cooking it down in a solvent. The result is what he calls “hemp oil” and almost everyone else calls “hash oil”. Calling it simply “cannabis oil” runs the risk of confusing it with the canna-coconout oil we’re making on this page.

So yes, if you want to follow Rick Simpson’s advice, you would use good quality hash oil, either made yourself Rick’s way or bought in a dispensary (usually around $40 to $60/gram). A dilute solution of cannabinoids in coconut oil (canna-coconout oil) is unlikely to have any direct effect on cancer because it’s far weaker.

Thanks for the swift reply. A friend has asked for some help, as we are in a non legal country hash oil is virtually impossible to obtain. I have made cannabutter before and have access to bud so was hoping cannaoil would help.
Guess I’ll have to make some hash oil.

If this is for cancer, please look up Rick Simpson’s method, although I would personally use isopropyl alcohol or ethanol rather than naptha as a solvent. Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to make butane hash oil!

Thanks for all the info. I’ve always struggled to get high from edibles but the caps are doing it (with 4 caps about an 80mg dose) and the results from switching to edibles rather than smoking/vaping have been tremendous. My appetite is better, the high feels fresh and enjoyable, my anxiety is non-existent. I’m working up a 24g-12tblsp batch now.

One note; after buying a meat thermometer I realised my water bath was only at about 110F. After upping the heat and putting on a lid the temperature reached a perfect 190F. Not sure how much that might affect the lipid bonding but something to watch out for.

I have a question; I’ve been saving the plant dregs from the cap making process and I have a mugful of the stuff in the freezer. What do you like to do with your leftovers? Firecrackers? Run it again? Chuck it out?

Yeah, I don’t have any actual statistics on this yet, but I try to get up to at least 180F…cold doesn’t feel right for this.

As far as dregs…some people make a poultice, some people throw it out, but I’ve found that if you save the dregs up from 5 or 6 runs, that will be enough for one more that will come out full strength. So I’ve guessing the process is about 80% efficient in extracting cannabinoids. Nugs and hugs!

I never tire of reading your enlightening posts!
I have two questions:

1. Can a high THC with low CBD strain be decarboxylated at the same temperature and time as a high CBD with low THC strain…would 250°F for 30 minutes work for both? I’ve read that a CBD strain is supposed to be baked longer. (I’ll be making rum based tinctures with these).

2. For my senior kitty….do you have a small batch coconut oil recipe that can be used internally for pain management and externally for benign basal cell tumors? She also has kidney disease. She weighs 5 pounds but is still fairly active and happy. I will use 2 or 3 grams of Sour Tsunami: CBD-17%, THC-1%.

1. Yes, all cannabis, no matter how much or little THC or CBD it contains, should be decarboxylated the same way. I’m not sure where this “alternative fact” about CBD needing higher temperatures to decarboxylate came from, but I suspect it was someone who assumed that it sounded “logical” because CBD vaporizes at a higher temperature than THC. However, that has nothing to do with it.

Decarboxylation involves forcing the carboxyl group to disassociate from the “host” molecule via heat, and that has to do with the carboxyl bond itself and not whether it’s coming from CBD or THC!

2. For cats, we generally use our regular oil (from this very article) diluted to about 1/4 of normal strength as a starting point. When I say “starting point”, I mean you give them a tiny bit, perhaps 0.25 ml, and see if they exhibit any adverse effects (please see my article on this in Weedist) and then work things out from there. We unfortunately have way too much experience with sick cats, so I personally would use the regular diluted canna-coconut oil internally and use RSO or hash oil directly on the tumors for best results. Sour Tsunami would be a great start, but if she doesn’t get sufficient pain relief, you might try strains that are closer to 1:1 ratio of CBD:THC. Nugs and hugs to you and your kitty!

Thanks for the kind words and great information! I’m still trying to ingest some of it.

It’s so sad when kitties become sick as they age, but at least we can try to keep them more comfortable. I’ve been giving Slippery Elm syrup to my kitty. It’s very helpful for cats with kidney disease and it immediately calms her.

If I wanted to make RSO, couldn’t I just make Golden Dragon with 151 rum, evaporate it down with a double boiler on low, or better yet, just let a bowl of the tincture sit on the counter until the alcohol evaporates naturally? (Rick Simpson’s version would be unhealthy and too dangerous to attempt in my opinion).

Also, isn’t RSO supposed to be high in THC to be effective? If I applied it to my cats tumors, wouldn’t it cause adverse effects with the THC being absorbed into her skin? I’m just hoping that the oil would provide healing and pain relief without causing her any unsteadiness.

Thanks yourself! It’s always great talking to someone who thinks for themself!

Yes to your Golden Dragon question…and actually, making “RSO” using ethanol is exactly what I’ve done myself and what I recommend people do if they’re taking it internally. If it’s only going to be used externally, using isopropyl alcohol is far cheaper (and cleaner than rum).

And yes, a concentrated tincture of cannabis will be strong, drop for drop. So for an animal, I would start experimenting with the smallest possible dose — a single drop on each tumor — and watch the furry darling carefully for adverse effects. And then keep adding drops and watching until I see a reaction, then back off one drop. That should give the highest possible dose without side effects, though personally I don’t think much THC is going to get past that tumor…it’s going to be working directly on it, with no leftovers!

That’s good to know about making the RSO with isopropyl alcohol if it’s for external use.

The information on how to treat her tumors will be very helpful. I will get back to you in a couple weeks or so, and let you know how things are progressing. Time for me to get busy making the medicines for her now. 🙂 =^..^=

You’re welcome, but remember, anything you do with any of this information is experimental medicine that you’re undertaking on your own. I’m certainly not a doctor or veterinarian and nothing is guaranteed. Best of luck and nugs and hugs!

I will be careful and treat just one tumor to begin with and see if she has a reaction. The vet wanted to do a surgical excision on them. She’s around age 16 and I don’t want to put her through that unless absolutely necessary, so I’m hoping the oil will work. 🙂

Hi. thanks for all the useful information. I was recently diagnosed with eye cancer, which was treated with radioactive plaque therapy. I have been advised that I am at risk of the cancer spreading, most likely to the liver first, sometime in the coming years. I want to make cannacaps and use them 2 or 3 times a day, to keep my liver flooded with small amounts THC, CBD, terpenes, and whatever else may have anti-cancer properties. I don’t need them for pain relief or psychoactive properties. Should I still decarb the cannabis before making the capsules? Or should I skip the capsules and go straight to the (much stronger) RSO? That might be too expensive for me to continue on a years-long basis. But if I do, the same question about decarbing applies… I realize that this is an inexact science, but any advice you could give me would be helpful.

The idea of making cannacaps as a preventative measure is a good one, whether you use raw or decarbed cannabis (or a mixture of both). However, that ship has sailed because you already know you have cancer. So if you want to follow Rick Simpson’s protocol to attempt to stop or even kill the cancer, you’d want to start making or buying RSO/hash oil ASAP (you can get/use a little at a time). If you’ve actually read Rick’s instructions, which I strongly recommend (ignoring the part where he uses naptha (which may present health problems of its own) for extraction…I’d personally use ethanol), you’ll see that a full treatment takes only 90 days, so you don’t have to worry about doing it for years.

Thank you! I’m in a weird situation, as I have no detectable cancer *right now.* The eye cancer tumor was “killed” by the radioactive plaque. My liver and lungs scan clean. However, after a genetic analysis of the tumor, the lab determined that there’s a “high risk” of my developing liver or lung cancer, that spread from that eye cancer… could be 1 year from now, could be 10 years. Might never happen at all. There’s no way for them to tell, they don’t know “where” in my cells the cancer might be, if it’s there at all. So I’ll go with a daily dose of the cannacaps, following your helpful instructions.

Ah, sorry, I didn’t read that right. I see, since there’s a strong threat of the cancer being in my system, you’re saying I should skip right to the RSO. Getting a pound were I live will be extremely difficult and expensive, but I can work on that. Thanks again for the advice.

You may have also missed the part about how you really don’t need all of it at once, so you can start making it with whatever you can scrape together and get started immediately. Before I even knew much about any of this, I took a small rice cooker and ethanol and about an ounce and got probably a gram or so of good RSO. Think of it as a long term project!

I’m looking for a good consistent way to do this in an oven, as where I’m living just now doesn’t give me good access to a stove. You note that you could “just put in the oven at 200” but don’t go into any more detail than that. It seems like it would be easier than having to use a water bath/double boiler, too. Any ideas? Thanks!

I mentioned putting it into an oven on a pie plate with the oil, but if that’s not complicated enough for you, you can also use a Pyrex measuring cup or even a mason jar if you want to keep the smell down. It’s quite easy to do all with an oven! And feel free to read the comments as well as the article, lots of good stuff there too. Nugs and hugs!

Thanks first for such a great thread! Wondering if you might consult on my CannaCap math problem? I’ve been baking brownies for awhile with good results (7 grams of top end decarbed bud on low heat with 1/4 cup of coconut oil and strained). That yields 15 brownies and we normally eat only 1/8 bite which is about right for us (nice breeze through the hair and able to function and conversate).

So 7 grams yields us about 120 light doses (15×8). I was thinking of just making the oil using about 1/2 cup of oil which should allow for about 120 1 ml (ish) doses using the 00 gelatin caps. Obviously this is way more oil that described in many of the older posts above and I was wondering if you or fellow reader might have a suggestion or call out a math error.

No, you are definitely thinking clearly! It’s all about the number of doses provided by the cannabis, not the amount of oil. The oil provides the “carrier” or inactive ingredients. In the case of your brownies, they were obviously overdosed since you could only tolerate 1/8 brownie. The exact same amount of cannabis, used with the correct amount of oil as you suggest, gives you single-dose capsules that are much easier to deal with! Nugs and hugs!

The problem with portable ovens is that the heating rod or coil is very close to the cooking area and plant matter invariably gets overheated. Some people have countered this effect by double-wrapping in aluminum foil.

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